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How Stress Led Me to the Emergency
Room
Three Steps to a Stress-Free Day
By Nicole Cleveland
It was exactly one year ago that my body was
at the point of exhaustion. The cares of the
world had overtaken me; my mind was
overwhelmed and my body was completely worn
down.
There’s an instrument in our vehicles called
a temperature gauge. When the little mark
goes to the far right, that means it’s
overheating. This is an indicator that the
vehicle needs water or antifreeze. Well,
that’s what my body and mind was trying to
tell me last year.
On this particular morning I got up as
normal, but this was no normal day. My heart
was racing, beating three times its normal
rate, but I ignored it. I had things to do
and people to see. Choosing to ignore these
warnings signs, I proceeded with my day.
Then, around 11:00 that morning the racing
began again. This time there was no way I
could ignore it. My breath was being
snatched; I could barely breathe. The
enemy wanted to kill me. I thought my
heart would literally come out of my chest,
that’s how fast it was beating.
After rushing to the hospital, the doctors
ran a series of tests. The ultimate
diagnosis was stress. Duh! I could have told
you that – stress can kill you. The doctors
said I needed to be out of work for two full
weeks to manage the stress I was
experiencing in my life.
‘Two weeks?’ I said. ‘I have things to do. I
got people to see, I got work, I have the
magazine. I got so many things going on my
life and I do not have time for this,’ but
my body told me differently.
Deuteronomy 30:19-20
This day I call heaven and earth as
witnesses against you that I have set before
you life and death, blessings and curses.
Now choose life, so that you and your
children may live and that you may love the
LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold
fast to him.
Thank God I had enough time on the books to
cover my absence with pay, but what about
the woman who doesn’t have the sick time
available on the books? What about the woman
who will be out of her home if she’s out of
work? There are kids to feed, rent to pay,
mortgages to meet and bills to manage.
So, what do you do?
Take care of yourself. If you don’t, nobody
will.
Here are some steps that can contribute to
living a stress-free life on a daily basis:
3 Stress Free Steps
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1)
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Each day wake up a bit earlier
than the other members in your
household. Become one with you
and God. Pray, meditate and
breathe. Be on the same accord
as your spirit; your spirit is
always focused on peace.
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2) |
Create a no-stress list. Buy
some index cards, in color, of
course. Date them, if you can.
For instance, my first index
card would be yellow and it
would be called “My No Stress
List” with the date noted. Then
the list:
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v) |
Pay water bill at
12:00 p.m. (Give
yourself specifics!) |
Make it plain; write it
down. Put the one for this
particular day in your
pocketbook. Take it to work
with you. Have it on your
desk or your computer at
work. You need to see it
because if you don’t you
won’t remember it.
As you complete your
no-stress list, check off
what you’ve accomplished and
put a happy face right
beside it. We all need to be
praised for what we do. Most
times the praise will only
come from you. So, draw that
happy face around something
that you’ve accomplished and
give yourself that pat of
accomplishment on the back.
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3)
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Do something nice for someone
each day. It doesn’t have to be
monetary. It could be calling a
sick and shut-in, it could be
helping someone at the store, it
could be telling a young person
that you believe in them. When
you do something nice for
someone else, it just feels
good. |
Implementing these steps will allow you to
take care of yourself and begin to eliminate
stress in your day. Look for other ways
where you can lighten the load. Take care of
you - there’s only one you.
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