Coping With Stress As An Adult

If it were up to us, we would never wish stressful situations on ourselves, of whatever kind.

Everything would be pretty seamless, right?

However, God did not create us to live in isolation. We are social beings and we have to interact with other people.

In the course of interaction, whether in a family, work, or friendship setup, our comfort zone is disrupted.

How do we navigate that??

When we consider the meaning of stress, there is a particular one I like: “Aggression toward an organism resulting in a response in an attempt to restore previous conditions.”

We are either the ones causing stress or experiencing stress that others have caused us.

Where are you most of the time?? Lol (This is a judgment-free zone)

Here are some examples to further paint a picture of stress:

You are given new tasks at work that you have never done before and somehow you are expected to figure out how it works out and drive results

Your parent trusted you with one job: to take care of the house key and you lose it. (This is a true story for me btw)

Your friend confides in you with a deeply personal secret. But you being the entertainer you are, wanting to share the latest news, spill the secret unintentionally, and now your friend knows about it

Have you been in a stressful situation that caused you a sleepless night? 

Okay, so the thing has already happened and stress is upon you…how do you go about it??

Here are my top recommendations that have carried me in those moments.

Pray

 This is the first thing I encourage you to do because it is what is always within reach.

Yes, you can talk to a friend, but what if they are out of reach at the particular moment when you really really need to mull over what happened?

Let’s consider these two verses:

1 Peter 5:7 – “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for us.”

Psalm 55:22– “Cast all your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you. He will never let the righteous be shaken.”

This is the best solution but most often, we consider it last.

People think of drinking or smoking the stress away.

In the earlier statements, we mentioned that we were created to exist with people. 

Now what makes you think the One who made the people’s causing you stress cannot do something about it??

That’s where we go wrong dear learner. When the Bible says ‘cast all…’ there is nothing excluded from the list.

Every little thing is very important to God. He cares for you.

Make a habit of praying as the first thing when you are stressed out and you will see how easier it gets.

If it’s not something you do, you don’t worry about understanding how it works. Just do it with a genuine desire to be relieved of the stress and it will work.

It makes more sense as you keep doing it.

This is the first thing you do, every other way of coping that follows after this is not in any order. It is very much situational.

Switch up a task

If the thing you are doing is what is stressful, take a break from it. 

Distract yourself with another task and let your mind take a bit of rest from that.

This is different from avoiding.

It’s understanding that your mental capacity to handle that thing is not at 100.

You feel like you would rather deal with something else just not that thing.

As you take a break from it, you are processing possible solutions in the background and when facing it you feel more ready.

Another form of distraction that is still a way of coping is sleeping on it and taking a walk.

Sleeping on things has been working for me lately.

Some stresses are just things we bring on ourselves, especially for women. I say this with a lot of love. 

Here is a video format;)

Women tend to overthink and overanalyze and it can result in heated conversations. 

Our minds need rest from overthinking what to say, and how to respond.

When you withdraw a bit from the situation, you are more mature and approach it in a wise way the next time.

Don’t be surprised if you end up being the one apologizing for something.

Our ego might hurt but it is the right thing to do.

Seek Help

No one knows everything.

At any point in time, there is always someone ahead of you in a subject; name it.

And if you are shy about going to someone with your issues, you have the internet where you can search for things. 

Be wise about the platforms though and don’t take it as Bible truth. See what is right and works for you.

In the case of work, do you have a colleague who can assist?

If you work with systems, most of them have their knowledge base that provides solutions for almost all questions you might have.

Oh yes, I have a beautiful Bible verse that backs that too. 

Proverbs 15:22 (TPT) – Your plans will fall apart right in front of you if you fail to get good advice. But if you first seek out multiple counselors, you\’ll watch your plans succeed.

Your parents can guide you in some stressful life decisions.

Go to your mentors too and get to seek their opinions on different topics.

These are my best three tips for dealing with stressful situations.

My caveat for dealing with any kind of stress is it does you no good if you are not sober. Your mind has to be alert and conscious to deal with it in the best way possible.

Please don’t fall for the trap of thinking things like alcohol or immorality are solutions.

They are very temporary and when their ‘high’ wears out, you will be right where you started.

I hope this was helpful.

All the best Learner!

Xoxo;)