We’ve all heard the saying “life happens,” and that statement is typically used in terms of unfortunate or sad events. But what about the events that are happy moments in your life but still seem to cause you to stress out? It’s something you don’t really think about but once you think about the happy life events that bring about stress, it makes you wonder how can such a wonderful thing take such a toll on your body as if you were experiencing a bad life event?
Associating stress with happy moments in your life doesn’t even seem right but it actually makes sense… it just depends on the happy moment you’re experiencing. The moments that bring you the most joy and happiness like getting married, having children, and going on vacations, are also the most stress-inducing events you will ever experience.
It can be an overwhelming feeling that comes with planning your wedding or the pressure you put on yourself to exceed your own expectations with a job promotion, the image of happiness that we have in our minds for these joyous occasions don’t always play out the way we had hoped but the way you handle anxiety and stress is the key to coping with it appropriately.
What is Stress?
Stress is your body’s response to certain events and situations. Truthfully, anything that disrupts your normal routine, whether it’s in a good way or a bad way, it can cause your body to stress and react in different ways. According to WebMD, there two types of stress: good stress and bad stress. The difference between the two is that good stress is short-lived while bad stress can linger on for extended periods of time.
For the most part, these happy life events tend to trigger good stress, even though it may sound counterintuitive. Take a look at some of life’s most memorable moments that can cause you an overwhelming amount of stress.
Pivotal Life Moments That can Stress You Out
Sundays… the Day of Rest
Sundays have been called the day of rest, meaning, it’s a day where you are supposed to relax and enjoy the day, therefore earning it the title of being a day of rest, when the reality of Sundays, for a lot of people, is that it’s actually a day of stress. Why is that? Why do you think people associate Sundays with stress?
Well, although Sundays are considered as part of the weekend, lots of people look at it as the day before Monday, meaning they’re spending their day of rest dreading the workday ahead of them. That mindset gives people the “Sunday blues” in addition to already having the “Monday blues.”
Although it’s supposed to be a day of rest, try to stay active and busy on Sundays because trying to rest clearly isn’t taking your mind off of the coming work week. Whether it’s spending the day with friends and family or preparing a Sunday dinner, look for things to do to keep your mind occupied so your focus will be off of the coming Monday.
Vacations: The Before and During
Vacation and stress shouldn’t be in the same sentence, right? You would think that but although vacations are an event that you specifically planned for as a time to rest and relax, it can be one of the most stressful times ever!
Before your vacation, you’re stressing trying to make sure you have all your assignments done plus, you want to clean your home before you go because no one wants to come home from vacation to a messy home… Cleaning your home is an easy fix though. You can just hire a housekeeper to clean up for you while you get everything else together for the trip… that will alleviate a big chunk of your stress. Not only that but during your vacation, you’re also stressing about what type of workload you’ll be coming back to. This could be a good time to add a full time or part time helper to work in your home.
Moving On to Better Things: Getting a New Job or Promotion
Whether you’ve gotten promoted or found a new job, you’re both excited about the road that lies ahead of you but at the same time, you’re stressing yourself out because you’ve put so much pressure on yourself to succeed. When you initially hear the good news, you were immediately excited and wanted to celebrate with your friends on your new achievement.
But once everybody has left and it’s just you by yourself, you begin to stress about your own expectations and what type of responsibilities you’ll soon be taking on. If it’s giving you that much stress and anxiety, consider writing down all your concerns and questions so that they can be addressed on your first day. That will definitely put your mind at ease… remember, most employers would rather ask a question than for you to assume you know what you’re doing and potentially mess something up.