‘Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.’ (Matthew 11:28-31)
We all experience stress at some point in our lives. There are many causes for that. To overcome it often means that one has to adjust his priorities, lifestyle and set realistic goals. It is good to ask ourselves this question: Am I in control of my stress, or is it in control of me?
The rigidity of a person’s personality can also be a contributing factor for stress. A rigid person is someone who is unable or refuses to change his actions or attitudes even though objective conditions indicate that a change is desirable. He clings on to certain ways of thinking and acting, even when they are no good to him and burn up his emotional energy and reserve. It is like driving a car with the brakes on, or a housewife who worries till she got into migraine headache just because she cannot maintain a scrupulously tidy home when her grandchildren are visiting.
Sometimes stress comes from ‘too much change’. We do need a certain amount of change to function efficiently. However, when changes come too fast for us to cope with, we are therefore put under tremendous stress.Dr. Thomas H. Holmes from the University of Washington School of Medicine devised the ‘Holmes Stress Scale” to measure stress in terms of "units of change”. His theory is that, too much change in one’s life in a short span of time contributes to stress and robs one’s energy, health. So whenever possible, we must try to limit changes in our lives. For example, the death of a loved one measures 100 units, divorce 73 units, marriage 50 units. His conclusion is that no one can handle more than 300 units of stress in a twelve- month period, and the likelihood of having an accident or becoming ill will increase by 80% during the next two years.
Although his theory cannot be scientifically proven, it does support what we are seeing now – rapid changes within short period of time due to globalisation have caused more people experienced stress in their lives. Like it or no, it has becoming more difficult for us to limit changes in our lives.
We all experience stress at some point in our lives. There are many causes for that. To overcome it often means that one has to adjust his priorities, lifestyle and set realistic goals. It is good to ask ourselves this question: Am I in control of my stress, or is it in control of me?
The rigidity of a person’s personality can also be a contributing factor for stress. A rigid person is someone who is unable or refuses to change his actions or attitudes even though objective conditions indicate that a change is desirable. He clings on to certain ways of thinking and acting, even when they are no good to him and burn up his emotional energy and reserve. It is like driving a car with the brakes on, or a housewife who worries till she got into migraine headache just because she cannot maintain a scrupulously tidy home when her grandchildren are visiting.
Sometimes stress comes from ‘too much change’. We do need a certain amount of change to function efficiently. However, when changes come too fast for us to cope with, we are therefore put under tremendous stress.Dr. Thomas H. Holmes from the University of Washington School of Medicine devised the ‘Holmes Stress Scale” to measure stress in terms of "units of change”. His theory is that, too much change in one’s life in a short span of time contributes to stress and robs one’s energy, health. So whenever possible, we must try to limit changes in our lives. For example, the death of a loved one measures 100 units, divorce 73 units, marriage 50 units. His conclusion is that no one can handle more than 300 units of stress in a twelve- month period, and the likelihood of having an accident or becoming ill will increase by 80% during the next two years.
Although his theory cannot be scientifically proven, it does support what we are seeing now – rapid changes within short period of time due to globalisation have caused more people experienced stress in their lives. Like it or no, it has becoming more difficult for us to limit changes in our lives.
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