Thursday, March 7, 2013

"You've got your troubles, I've got mine!"



No truer words were ever spoken than the title of the 60's hit song made popular by the Fortunes.

 

It has significance to all lost souls battling stress, anxiety or depression. We seem to wrap ourselves in self pity and feel sorry for ourselves, when the other person is probably or likely going through a rougher patch than you. When you walk down the street or look out of the car or office window at other people, try to imagine what may be bothering them. Allow some empathy to enter your world, for we are all on the same planet for just a brief period of time and we all experience life's challenges.

 

It is probably fair to say that there have been millions or even billions of people that have come before us that have experienced the same, if not worse, situations that you may be going through at this time.

 

Some of our fore fathers allowed their "illness" to take over their lives and remained miserable until they passed on, sometimes at their own calling. Others learned how to cope and have gone on to accomplish wonderful things for themselves and others.


Abraham Lincoln fought clinical depression all his life, and if he were alive today, his condition would be treated as a "character issue"—that is, as a political liability. His condition was indeed a character issue: it gave him the tools to save the nation. He also lost his son and his wife went "bonkers" with the loss of their child.

 

Lincoln is a great role model for handling intense stress and melancholy. He battled his demons and losses with humor and logic to bring the US together and release the grip of servitude to help make us all better.

 

If you can step back from your issues and see all of  humanity having their own struggles, it helps put your issues in context of the bigger picture. It will help lessen your fears, so you can, with confidence, control or eliminate your "demons" and learn to deal with them in a healthy, constructive manner.

 

Come see us at www.stressless.com