We all know when we get stressed, but we often don’t pay attention to it like we should. If our stress goes on long enough, it can lead to many physical, emotional, and behavioral problems. In fact, between 75-90% of all physician office visits are due to stress-related issues.
When we aren’t able to reduce our stress through conscious means, we adapt by subconsciously avoiding it. Many people use other things in their lives, such as alcohol, sleeping pills, food, shopping and gambling, to avoid dealing with their stressors. This can often cause relationship, financial, and health problems, as well only worsening (not improving) our level of stress.
Here are some questions that you can ask yourself to see if you might be over-using things in your life to avoid dealing with your stressors:
- What is my motivation for using this?
- Is this behavior becoming a priority in my life?
- Do I get defensive when people talk to me about it?
- Do I make sure I have time for it?
- Do I think about it more than I used to?
Being aware of the reasons for our behavior is the first step to making positive changes!
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Dr. Andre Judice is owner of Northshore Counseling and Wellness, a private psychotherapy practice offering individual, couples, family and group psychotherapy.
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