Bad Stress
If a stimulus we react to is negative, we are actually feeling “distress” though we label it as stress. It would be like getting a call from your dreaded Uncle Fred who’s coming for a visit and you didn’t invite him, and don’t want him to come - because he stays up all night drinking beer and calling people long distance on your phone. Or, on a more serious note, bad stress might mean having to get a pap test redone, or having a painful impacted jaw tooth removed.
Maybe the tax people re-assessed you and you cannot find the receipts they demand. You could owe them $4,000 and you don’t have it.
Money worries are a big stress.
Bills seem to come from nowhere, just when you feel you’re getting ahead, the
furnace breaks down or your daughter in
On a daily basis, it could be a 40 minute highway drive when there’s heavy transport trucks on the road, lots of snow coming down and the icy conditions make it worse. You look down and your knuckles are tight on the steering wheel. Your head throbs and the muscles across your shoulders and in your neck feel tense and achey.
If you work outside the home, maybe your boss has been on your case about an overdue report and when you get home your husband is in a bad mood and your son has dropped off your 2 grandkids, who are fighting over who’s turn it is to use the computer. You feel tense. You’re shaking.
Let’s say you get into a heated
discussion with your oldest daughter.
She wants you to look after her visiting in laws at your house, over the
holiday time. You have more space than she has. For your part - you are tired
of cooking and cleaning for others and you don’t want your privacy invaded.
Your daughter persists, making promises of helping to get ready, extra cooking,
etc. You feel mean because you aren’t willing to do
this. Your daughter whines and cajoles. You hang firm but feel increasingly
upset. Why can’t she leave you out of this? Your daughter loses her temper and
leaves abruptly, slamming the door. You feel awful. You are shaking.