Stress is OK.

Stress Awareness Month - Insight #1 (of 12)

All our feelings are 'good.' Even the unpleasant ones. They're good because they are information about what our subconscious thinks are our needs, wants, and desires. Stress is a signal from ourselves that something needs attending to, something needs to be changed or done to make things better, there is a need that is not being met.

Before the first 'step' toward managing our stress better is recognizing that the stress (our physical or emotional reactions) is not the enemy, not a bad thing, not a threat or something to be denied or conquered or pushed through. Stress is (or can be) our friend, it is looking out for us. It is (or can be) an ally in living life better.

Sometimes it can be wrong - it might underestimate our capability to cope or handle a certain situation or task. Even then, however, it is looking out for us. It is just working on insufficient or inaccurate assumptions - in which case, the real task is to help us correct the information and get on the same page.

Stress becomes a problem when we view it as dangerous or a hinderance or interference. It is a problem when it interferes with us living our lives. But the problem is not the 'stress.' The problem is that we are not responding satisfactorily to the information it is pointing to, or to the interaction between our subconscious and our conscious attention in the present moment.

Let us start by reframing stress as just a signpost directing our attention at an unmet need. Then we are ready to begin attending to it - to transform it, our reactions, and our lives.