Sometimes life can get extremely stressful. It happens for anyone and everyone. It can happen at anytime. It is essentially inevitable. However, how we deal with the stress that inevitably comes is important for the well being of ourselves and our families.
Whenever I experience stress, which I do quite frequently, I have found that my immediate reaction is to try and distract myself. Turning away my attention from a stressful situation or a current or future stressful event is in fact not the most beneficial way to cope. Instead of communicating my concerns to someone I trust and care about, I would just go hang out with friends, watch a show on Netflix, or something along those lines. It seemed like I was just avoiding my problems, rather than solving them. I am sure my family and friends noticed in times where I was more stressed because it came across in my behavior and my manner. I was less patient with myself and others, was in my head more and less focused on those around me, and was less productive. Eventually, it got to the point where I would have random panic attacks that could happen anywhere, anytime. My body was having a physical reaction to the emotional distress I was experiencing. This was quite a bit of a concern for me and I finally started communicating to my parents how I was feeling.
Although it seems so simple, communication is such an essential part of maintaining your well being and your relationships. When I refused to communicate with my friends and family I did not realize I was actually disconnecting myself from them. Instead, I should have turned to them for support and to help me talk out my concerns. Once I did convey my stress to them, I did began to feel a lot of relief. I was also able to become closer with them again. It is so important that I keep communicating how I feel to those I love- in my current, as well as my future relationships.
When I eventually get married, I want to be able to easily communicate with my husband. Often, a lot of issues in relationships come from a lack of communication. I have discussed in a previous post how sometimes the things we do or say mean something else to us, than what they mean to another person. A simple miscommunication can easily turn into hurt feelings or arguments, regardless of how insignificant it may seem. I do not want to do or say something that I do not think much of but actually offends my husband. However, it likely will happen throughout marriage. I would want to make sure he knows he can communicate with me so that when a miscommunication or a stressful situation does occur, he would feel comfortable talking to me about it.
The same goes for any relationship. Not only can communicating clear up any offenses, or reduce stress, but it also helps people draw closer together. If you make sure there is an open line of communication with your friends, your family members, and in your marriage, your bond will ultimately become stronger. In order to cultivate an "open line" that both people will use, you each must feel safe and comfortable with each other. For example, if I am friends, but not close friends with a roommate, I may not feel comfortable asking her to wash her dishes instead of allowing them to pile up in the sink, preventing everyone else from being able to wash their dishes without having to move hers, (and smell the old food). On the other hand, if I am pretty good friends with my roommate and we both feel close and comfortable with each other, I would not have a super hard time kindly asking them to wash or at least move her dishes so I could do mine. I will say that even if I do not feel close to my roommate, it is still important that I do communicate with her so I do not harbor negative feelings towards her. Being close can simply help in the efforts to communicate.
I know that if we improve our communication, we will be able to improve our relationships and our personal well being. I hope to continually become a better communicator as I develop my current relationships, and cultivate new ones.
Whenever I experience stress, which I do quite frequently, I have found that my immediate reaction is to try and distract myself. Turning away my attention from a stressful situation or a current or future stressful event is in fact not the most beneficial way to cope. Instead of communicating my concerns to someone I trust and care about, I would just go hang out with friends, watch a show on Netflix, or something along those lines. It seemed like I was just avoiding my problems, rather than solving them. I am sure my family and friends noticed in times where I was more stressed because it came across in my behavior and my manner. I was less patient with myself and others, was in my head more and less focused on those around me, and was less productive. Eventually, it got to the point where I would have random panic attacks that could happen anywhere, anytime. My body was having a physical reaction to the emotional distress I was experiencing. This was quite a bit of a concern for me and I finally started communicating to my parents how I was feeling.
Although it seems so simple, communication is such an essential part of maintaining your well being and your relationships. When I refused to communicate with my friends and family I did not realize I was actually disconnecting myself from them. Instead, I should have turned to them for support and to help me talk out my concerns. Once I did convey my stress to them, I did began to feel a lot of relief. I was also able to become closer with them again. It is so important that I keep communicating how I feel to those I love- in my current, as well as my future relationships.
When I eventually get married, I want to be able to easily communicate with my husband. Often, a lot of issues in relationships come from a lack of communication. I have discussed in a previous post how sometimes the things we do or say mean something else to us, than what they mean to another person. A simple miscommunication can easily turn into hurt feelings or arguments, regardless of how insignificant it may seem. I do not want to do or say something that I do not think much of but actually offends my husband. However, it likely will happen throughout marriage. I would want to make sure he knows he can communicate with me so that when a miscommunication or a stressful situation does occur, he would feel comfortable talking to me about it.
The same goes for any relationship. Not only can communicating clear up any offenses, or reduce stress, but it also helps people draw closer together. If you make sure there is an open line of communication with your friends, your family members, and in your marriage, your bond will ultimately become stronger. In order to cultivate an "open line" that both people will use, you each must feel safe and comfortable with each other. For example, if I am friends, but not close friends with a roommate, I may not feel comfortable asking her to wash her dishes instead of allowing them to pile up in the sink, preventing everyone else from being able to wash their dishes without having to move hers, (and smell the old food). On the other hand, if I am pretty good friends with my roommate and we both feel close and comfortable with each other, I would not have a super hard time kindly asking them to wash or at least move her dishes so I could do mine. I will say that even if I do not feel close to my roommate, it is still important that I do communicate with her so I do not harbor negative feelings towards her. Being close can simply help in the efforts to communicate.
I know that if we improve our communication, we will be able to improve our relationships and our personal well being. I hope to continually become a better communicator as I develop my current relationships, and cultivate new ones.
Comments
Post a Comment