In this month’s Nothing New, we will look at two words we tend to use interchangeably, even though they have significantly different nuances: stress and overwhelm.
Today, we’ll look at stress.
In her informative book Atlas of the Heart, research professor and author Brene Brown says, “We feel stressed when we evaluate environmental demand as beyond our ability to cope successfully. This includes elements of unpredictability, uncontrollability, and feeling overloaded.”
Do you think the beginning of the school year evokes stress in students, teachers, and parents? You bet!
Even if you aren’t directly involved in school, you probably run into people who are.
And you probably can sense their stress!
We experience stress in our bodies, our minds, and our emotional reactions. This is nothing new. Our thoughts and feelings greatly affect our behaviors throughout our lives.
We also tend to label things as good stress (moving to a new house) or bad stress (losing a job), but this labeling doesn’t fool us. Our bodies and minds don’t know the difference; they’ll respond the same way!
All the changes of the new school year bring lots of stress to the people involved. Follow my posts on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn from 9/9/24 – 9/13/24 to learn how to support people resistant to all the changes the new year brings.
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