Stress and Distress

Among the factors that accelerate the aging process, we find stress.

By Raymond Viger 

Studies present stress in different forms and in different contexts. We say that students are stressed. Men are too. Parents are stressed. Women too… everyone is stressed at some point in their lives.

Stress is a sneaky, ruthless enemy. It attacks us all, and we can’t hide from it. Trying to put it in the back of your mind is just about the worst thing you can do.

Like an emotional cancer, stress slowly, gently spins its web inside your head. Until you see everything in shades of black.

Some activities can put a temporary balm on our pent-up emotions. A glass of alcohol, a night at the casino, a little drug… The body adjusts to what we furnish it.

In the end, we always need a little bit more to fight off our malaise. These aren’t cures. They’re simply temporary band-aids hiding the gangrene that’s settled into us, and will kill us.  

Some take refuge in religion, in excessive sports, and in other things besides. Even seemingly positive acts can become a drug of choice.

Addiction is an emotional disease that eats away at our insides. It destroys life by taking whatever is left of life. Family, friends, work, money… Until your dreams become illusions, a mirage in the desert that becomes your life.

Don’t forget that the word crisis comes from the Ancient Greek word for change. It’s up to us to make positive changes. Stress left untreated can lead to suicide.  Take care of yourself – seek the help you need.

First seen in: Reflet de Société magazine, Vol. 27, no. 1, printemps (spring) 2019, page 4.   

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