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For Stress Awareness Month, we could probably all take a moment to check in with our stress levels. How are you feeling? If you had to answer, in a second, this question, “Do you feel stressed or do you feel relaxed?” what would your impulse answer be? Sometimes we don’t even realize we are stressed out until somebody points it out or asks us if we are. Sometimes, seeing someone who is clearly not stressed out makes the fact that you’re a ball of stress undeniable. You know you’re so far, mentally and emotionally, from the state of that relaxed individual. We live in a society that tells us that stress is normal, and that we should just accept it as a daily (if not hourly) sensation. But you shouldn’t live with stress every day. You shouldn’t embrace it, as if there’s nothing you can do about it, because it will lead to all sorts of issues—including medical ones. Here are signs you’ve mismanaged your stress, and what to do about it.
Your words are cynical
Put a tape recorder in your pocket and let it run for a day. At the end of that 24-hour period, play the tape back. Listen to the types of words you use. Do you notice patterns? Perhaps you swear a lot. Perhaps you call others bad names and words often. Perhaps you make exclamatory statements about life and people that are dark and negative. Sometimes we don’t realize how we sound, until we record ourselves.
