#1  reply  to this forum

While I am overall inclined towards resistance to any adjustment of my status quo, I do recognize that change is incentive for personal growth. In a perfect world I would love for the good things in my life to stay the same, and for the bad to change for the better or go away completely. However it's not probable to only accept the good while ignoring the bad and so it is prudent to see change as a chance to develop, to become a better person. Change is inevitable and it's up to the individual to either grow from it or stay stagnant by resisting it. Even positive change can cause stress as our bodies must adapt to a new situation. However, changes that we view as negative can cause us to experience greater stress than what results from those which we perceive as positive. "Negative or distressful events are usually the most harmful, for they are disruptive for a longer period. They have a secondary effect in that they stimulate fear, self-doubt, catastrophic imaginings, and other negative thoughts that linger in the mind". (Girdano, Dusek, Everly, 2013, p. 143). One personal illustration was when I was asked to be a Lector at my Church. At first I turned down the request, but was eventually persuaded to give it a try. It was tough. I thought many times about quitting, rejecting this change that was causing so much churn in all facets of my life. I didn't think I could do it, but somehow I kept trying. Many times I was glad to be behind a podium so that no one could see my legs shaking. I often felt as though I could never do it again, but kept at it and although it never became easy for me, I am now able to get up and speak to everyone with minimal distress. Overall this has been an instance where change enhanced my life and allowed me to grow as a person. I no longer feel a lack of control when I need to get up and speak, and there are some days when I truly am glad that I was able to become accustomed to this change in my life. It is easy to stay the same. It is difficult to change, especially if we have become complacent with our lives in their current state.

#2 reply to this forum

The life process I chose to discuss is "overload". I chose this because there are many times I feel that the pressures of life are built up and I feel overloaded and unable to do it all.

I currently work full time and have a second job on weekends. Although I don't work every weekend when I do work the weekend at my second job, it is easy for me to feel overloaded. I also have a weekend commitment with my full time job. There are times that I feel I can't meet the demands that I have put in place in my own life. Then added to my jobs are the courses I have for degree completion. I am also studying for a certification exam.

At times when I feel it is all too much , I get very irritable. When I think about what I am doing and try to focus on the positive personal growth then I feel it is all worth it. I deal with it all by trying to stay organized and alleviate as much of the stress of overload as possible.

#3 reply to this forum

The life process that I am choosing to discuss is "Change and our relationship to our ever-changing life". I chose this because I can relate to this personally and how it is connected to stress. Any change is an adaption and there are different feelings and emotions affiliated with change. Also depending on the change, it can affect relationships as lives continuously change on a regular basis. Life is about change and whether we choose the change or not, it is going to continue to take place. This life process causes the most stress in my life because more times than not, when I adapt to something it changes unexpectantly and usually beyond my control.

A personal example is the death of my father. My father was scheduled for a knee replacement and the surgery went well however, the next morning, suddenly he went into cardiac arrest and had a massive heart attack. This event was definitely life changing and has caused many changes in my life with personal relationships as well as understanding how quickly an event can change one s life forever. This caused a significant amount of stress for myself and my family and has changed how we all interact with each other as well as our perception of life and how we chose to react to stress.

The way I deal with life changing events is the constantly live by a well known prayer, called the Serenity Prayer: "God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference", written by an American theologian, Reinhold Niebuhr (1892-1971. A few other suggestions are to try to find something positive out of a negative situation as well as focus only on the part you can control and realize that life is going to show up and we are only responsible for our response to the situation.