stress Quotes

“For kids like me, the part of the brain that deals with stress and conflict is always activated–the switch flipped indefinitely. We are constantly ready to fight or flee, because there is constant exposure to the bear, whether that bear is an alcoholic dad or an unhinged mom. We become hardwired for conflict. And that wiring remains, even when there’s no more conflict to be had.”

“I’ve always wanted her hair, though I’d never tell her that. Where hers is like fire, my hair is what we call river brown. Dark at the root, pale at the ends, as the color leeches from our hair with the stress of Stilts life. Most keep their hair short to hide their gray ends but I don’t. I like the reminder that even my hair knows life shouldn’t be this way.”

“When I am consumed by my problems-stressed out about my life, my family, and my job-I actually convey the belief that I think the circumstances are more important than God’s command to always rejoice.”

“Things get bad for all of us, almost continually, and what we do under the constant stress reveals who/what we are.”

“Events such as retirement, a decline in health, and the death of loved ones are all major blows to one’s resilience in dealing with traumatic stress.”

“Unlike regular stressful events, such as moving to a new house, living with a chronic illness, suffering financial loss, or dealing with marital discord, traumatic events are so tremendous that individuals are rendered helpless by the force of the situation.”

“Gottman has found, in fact, that the presence of contempt in a marriage can even predict such things as how many colds a husband or wife gets; in other words, having someone you love express contempt toward you is so stressful that it begins to affect the functioning of your immune system.”

“But there are moments, particularly in times of stress, when haste does not make waste, when our snap judgments and first impressions can offer a much better means of making sense of the world.”

“Man can preserve a vestige of spiritual freedom, of independence of mind, even in . . . terrible conditions of psychic and physical stress.”

“The studies also found that the effort required by a job is not in itself stressful, but rather the imbalance between the effort we give and the reward we feel.”

“Stress and anxiety at work have less to do with the work we do and more to do with weak management and leadership.”

“It is not the demands of the job that cause the most stress, but the degree of control workers feel they have throughout their day.”

“Stressful thoughts reflect a conflict with reality. Stress happens when the mind resists what is.”

“Frankly, as soon add you have two things to do stored in your RAM, you’ve generated personal failure, because you can’t do two things at the same time. This produces an all-pervasive stress factor whose source can’t be pin-pointed.”

“Use your mind to think about things, rather than think of them.”

“Highly sensitive children are not mentally ill and will not become mentally ill unless put under unusual stress.”

“If we think we are something special or not special enough, then fear, nervousness, stress, and anxiety arise.”

“I’ve often been asked about this personality trait—my ability to maintain composure in the middle of crisis. Sometimes I’ll say that it’s just a matter of temperament, or a consequence of being raised in Hawaii, since it’s hard to get stressed when it’s eighty degrees and sunny and you’re five minutes from the beach. If I’m talking to a group of young people, I’ll describe how over time I’ve trained myself to take the long view, about how important it is to stay focused on your goals rather than getting hung up on the daily ups and downs.”

“Van Ness has enjoyed a great rate of success in his pioneer work in the Study of Stress.”

“This day was stressful and not fun, and if given the choice, I would choose to never do anything like it again. On the other hand, I do want what Mom wants, so she’s kind of right.”

“The heart is resilient and forgiving, it is the mind that causes us stress.”