University of Arizona - Desert Yearbook (Tucson, AZ)

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STrEsS A One SyUable Word That Kills No one needs to teil ui, i what IS stressful What r ' hat s i stressful to one peison IS not necessanh so of another. t-ver da ot our lives we encounter stress. It has worked it ' s way into our lives, and most of us can handle this stress, but there are times when it can seem very overwhelming. Certain steps you may take can help put the situation into perspective and help you deal with stress more effectively. The first thing you need to do is find out what is causing you to stress out. This is the easiest part of dealing with stress, and ironically the most important. As with anything that is not working cor- rectly, you can not fix it until you know exactly what is wrong and what is caus- ing it. Once you have discovered the cause (or causes) of your stress, you may then go about examining why the situa- tion is stessful to you, and how can you make it easier on yourself. Most of us are able to define what in our lives causes stress, but very few of us do anything about it. Instead of making some small changes in our lives that avoid it, we just acknowledge the pres- ence of stress, tell ourselves we can deal with it, and go on. This is not good for us, in either a health sense or a spiritual sense. Continual stress can lead to real medical problems. There is no reason why you should suffer physically when you are so worried about something you probably won ' t care about in a few months or years anyway Ulcers and other maladies do not go away so easily, .■ith s Talking to friends, family members, counselors, ministers, or psychiatrists are ways of getting the anger and frus- tration out of your system. If you really do not feel comfortable talking to some- one else, writing things down in a jour- nal or diary is also an excellent way of venting frustration. Not only is this theraputical, but it takes a little time each day, and can be rewarding years down the line. Just wait until you read today ' s entry one year from now, and end up having a great laugh over the whole thing. Another way to help you deal with stress is either get an old cushion or stuffed animal and beat it senseless. Take out your frustrations on a soft inanimate object that will take your anger and frustrations without hurting it. If you are the more destruc- tive type, you can always purchase a few glasses at a dime store or swap meet, and then return home to throw them against your wall to shatter in a million pieces. Of course, you do need to clean the mess up afterwards, but it will be with a sigh of relief. If all else fails, you are now surrounded by miles of desert. You can always just get out into it. Go ahead and throw some rocks or scream a little. Mother Nature is just the thing to help put your priorities back in order. The most important thing to remember is that you need to control stress, be- cause it is far better than having stress control you. Patrick Fenimore

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