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Musings of a stressed out mama -

I hate injustice. In the past, whenever I felt violated or unjustly accused, I stuffed my feelings. At one point however, I was angry enough to listen to my inner voice. "It's just your paradigm. You have no right to judge. You're overreacting. Keep you mouth shut or you'll get in trouble. Leave it alone. Whatever you do won't be appreciated." And then I asked myself: Why was I so blessed with this lack of self confidence? The lioness in me wants to roar. The wimp wants to shut up and hide in the closet. Am I stressed? I guess you could say that. But what is this really about?

So now I listen to my inner vibrations. I try and remember everything I've learned about stress. Just listen. Ok, deep breaths, slow down, relax. Ok, celebrate the fact that they didn't take away your birthday. So now you realize you have choices. So CHOOSE.

You can cry and throw a tantrum and proclaim "POOR ME". You can get angry and make a scene. That will show them! You can choose to ignore their stupidity. You can honor your integrity and know this is about them not you. You can realize they are angry at you because you won't let them use you.

Perhaps the best defense is no defense at all. The beautiful thing is last time this happened you cried and later realized the tears meant anger. This time you just got angry there were no tears. Maybe next time you'll just speak your truth with gentleness and clarity. Growth isn't easy. Be gentle with yourself.

And then there's this little imp in me that wants to stand on the rooftop and yell "Don't mess with my comfort zone." That's when my battle with stress became such a habit that I didn't realize I was stressed. And that's when I opted for change. I did what I do best, research. I studied, I learned and I applied what I learned or let's say attempted to apply what I learned. This stressed out mama is not perfect. But in the process, I learned that if I am good to myself and true to myself I can release and relax enough to do the next step. I guess that's what the Dali Lama means when he says "the purpose of life is to be happy". It's easier to effectively manage the stress once you have some tools to work with.

Here are some helpful STRESSBUSTERS that I discovered in my research.

FIND A LAUGH laughter not only jump-starts your physiology, it releases endorphins, body chemicals that give you a sense of well-being.

STRETCH YOURSELF OUT first thing in the morning stretch. Gentle stretches increase blood circulation

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