You’re Not Just Stressed — You’re Also Sad. Or Scared. Or Overwhelmed.
17 ways to calm your mind when you’re “stressed.”
How often do you say you’re stressed? A couple of times a week, if not daily? In a podcast episode of “On Purpose” with Jay Shetty, Harvard Psychologist Susan David said that we’re constantly saying we’re stressed.
David said that the issue with using the word “stressed” to express how we feel is that it’s an umbrella term. You can use it when you’ve been studying for hours or when you have a problem you don’t know how to solve. The lack of specificity makes it difficult to find a solution to your problem because you don’t actually know the problem.
She suggests that the next time you feel “stressed,” you find two more words or ways to talk about how you feel.
Let’s say you’ve been working for four hours straight. Your partner comes in at some point and asks how you’re feeling, and you say, “I’m stressed.” But that can mean anything. Are you struggling with your work? Are you working with a co-worker you think should be fired? If you aren’t specific, you won’t know how to fix your problem.
So, instead, find new ways to express how you feel. Perhaps you feel tired because your eyes are burning from staring at the screen for so long. Maybe…
