Activity: You Are In Control of Your Stress

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All of us deal with many stressors on a daily basis. Some stressors are more difficult to handle than others. On occasion, we lose control and enter a downward spiral; our stress seems to be too much to handle. For those times when your stressors are overwhelming, here is an activity that will help you see you have more control than you think.

1. Get a sheet of paper

2. Draw a line down the middle of your paper

3. On the left side write a list of your stressors. Below are some examples.

                  a.     Finances

b.     Difficult People

c.     Cooking

d.     Cleaning

e.     Work

f.      Etc…

4. Look at your list and circle the ones that you can control

Not much to circle is there? Most people find that very few stressors are really within their control. Good for you though if this isn’t true and your stressors are in your control.

5. On the right side of your paper write at least one coping skill or way you can handle each stressor you wrote on the left side.

6. Now circle what you can control.

a.     Learn to budget

b.     Set boundaries

c.     Make a plan, don’t cook things that are too complicated

d.     Take breaks, listen to music

e.     Take more breaks

f.      Etc…

All of them right? Did this turn things back in your favor? Hopefully this gives you more power over your stressors and gives you a little more hope when dealing with stressful situations. I have personally completed this activity many times and feel a little more relieved each time about my stressors. Repeat this activity as often as you need because stressors change all the time as well as coping skills.

Take control of your stress, don’t let it control you!

And p.s. You CAN do it!