Dealing with Stress

Everybody goes through stressful events in this life.  Eventually everyone will go through some kind of crisis as well.  It would be helpful for everyone to develop the skills and attitudes that help deal with stress and crisis.  For me I can the tell the difference between trying to deal with something in a good way or just putting it off.  I have to admit that I use denial way more than I would like.  Having had this type of coping mechanism though, I have come to realize that in some ways denial can be useful for gathering appropriate resources to deal with a problem, however when taken to the extreme usage of denial it will only prolong and worsen stress which could eventually lead to a crisis in of its self.  A healthy coping mechanism that can help with stress is to face the problem head on and to recognize it for what it really is.  This process actually includes two coping processes, the first is facing the trial which is the obvious one.  The second is re-framing the stress in your mind.  re-framing isn't denying or putting off the problem, it is rather saying something like this, "I know that right now this is going on... but it won't last forever so I can do this."  By doing this it can help us reduce the stress and gain the courage to continue forward.

Now before I end, I really want to mention a coping mechanism that has worked wonders for me.  Prayer has really helped me as I turn to the Lord and give him all of my thoughts and work with him to re-frame them.  I know that a lot of people won't find this useful for them, but for me talking to my Heavenly Father has helped me understand what I'm going through and given me ideas on what I can do to survive/continue forward.  If you are dealing with something that is super stressful and nothing else seems to work I would recommend prayer.  We will all face stress and crisis eventually, so lets make sure that we are prepared to deal with them when they come.