Thursday - Day 221 - Stress Series: "Just say No!"

I had a revelation recently.  I'm not sure if it's due to living in an RV for too long, the fact that I'm going to be changing my life again soon or if it's all part of my quest for an easier life.

I have managed to reduce all the stress in my life.  It's not that I am an unusually over stressed person to begin with, but I am a normal person with normal life stresses.  I believe everyone gets stressed out, but we all have different stress triggers.  

Instead of only managing my stress, I have mentally worked to eliminate my stress triggers.  And I believe it has worked.

Normal stress triggers for me: 

A crying or whining child

Dirty dishes in the sink

Dirty faces on my kids

A stressed out husband

Being or running late

A sticky floor or dirty rug

Money or lack there of

Running days behind on my blog postings 

CPA test window closing in

Overflowing trash bag

A whiny uptight dog 

Anything during a PMS week 

These are great examples of things that could easily or have (at some point in my life) stressed me out.  Maybe not all are high stress, but they absolutely cause a level of stress within an otherwise calm demure.  Add multiple triggers at once and it's a recipe for an external blow up or an internal melt down.  

It's all normal stuff, right?  I'm sure one or more of my triggers are common for most people.

When I lived in New York, traffic stressed me out, crowds, and strangers standing too close to me, stressed me out.  Imagine riding a crowded train or subway?  This was initially a huge challenge for me.  

True story:  My very first work day commuting into New York City, on the Long Island Railroad, I almost fainted.  I can still recall squatting down by the doors of the train.  A few people actually asked me if I was alright and said I was, even though squatting down was everything I could do not to fall over. 

I did it again the next morning and I was dizzy, but I held it together and learned to cope.  I was forced to reevaluate my thinking to eliminate my anxieties.  I had no choice if I was planning to commute, on busy trains, everyday.  I regrouped and found inner strength to get on the train and survive the ride.  Eventually, with each passing day, it became easier, and after about a week I adapted.  It was a conscious effort to remove whatever was triggering my stress.  

I share this story to illustrate how I succeeded in mentally freeing myself of my own feelings of being trapped, in an enclosed space, with too many people.  Today, I have no issues with claustrophobia and crowds.  I have also eliminated many, if not all of my stress triggers. 

I'm going to begin a series of blogs giving examples and tips on how I was able eliminate the stress triggers in my life.  If I can do it, anyone can.  

I have also learned, simply managing stress is good for the short term, but the stress will still exist and will continue to break a person down.  Eliminating the triggers permanently will release all mental confides of the stress.  Removing anxiety is better then simply managing by identification, burying or ignoring the stresses.  

I have worked on and off at inner peace over the years.  Yoga has helped tremendously, but when time or money doesn't permit classes, I'm back to the basics.

I realized I had offically achieved mental freedom when my two year old was screaming at the top of his lungs in Walmart (in my opinion, one of the most stressful stores in existence) His screams did not break me down, my triggers were gone.  It was at this moment I realized I have crossed the point of no return. I woke up this morning with a creative flow and knew I needed to share my experiences and methods. 

Continue to follow my next few blogs on my Stress Series:  

Our children 

The Spouse

Life (cleaning, cooking, money)

Other people & Driving

The News

A Recovering Stress addict