“Know the line.
Know the line that is joy.
Know the line that is coping.”

~Spirit, through  Anne Brady-Cronin

Had your fill of stress?  Admit it, we all have times of stress in our lives.  For some of us, a low undercurrent of stress exists that is constant.  Even though it is normal in our society, it’s not necessarily healthy.  Some say you should eliminate stress completely and that is not true – nor likely even possible.  Stress isn’t really the issue – how we handle it is.
 
Unhealthy stress coping may look like this:

    Problems with sleep.
    Pain; headaches; shoulder tightness from clenching.
    Emotional eating.  Beyond hunger or fullness.
    Feeling depressed; lethargic; emotionally numb (need for a prescription to address it).
    Crying for no apparent reason.
    Responses of anger and negativity.
    Alcohol, smoking or substance abuse to calm.  Anything that starts to have a negative effect on your life.

I’ve certainly experienced more than one of these symptoms in my life. 

Let’s consider the idea of choosing resilience instead. Resilience is the power and ability to recover readily after being stressed or stretched by life’s inevitable challenges.
Let go. (Sometimes how we think it should be holds us back from the real solution)
See obstacles as opportunities.  This will call for creativity and problem-solving.  (And more change. YAY…)
Let go of the idea we are a victim and choose a survivor attitude instead.  (Also known as a ‘can do’ attitude)
Everyone can learn to be resilient.  It’s a skill you can strengthen – and one you can help support in your children by allowing it.
 
I get it.  Easier said than done.  Most important, let’s keep in mind that we are all a work in progress.  Perfection is not a goal.  Growth is.  Who decides what perfection is anyway?
 

PS:  We can all use a little help no matter how resilient we are.  Attitude Breathing created by the Heart Math Institute teaches the skill of shifting our stress or unwanted attitude for a wanted one.