Internal Stressors

Sources of stress that you experience internally are internal stressors. We have divided internal stressors into ten different areas. Please answer the questions for each area. Your responses should help you decide which areas you may want to focus on.

1. Nutrition. Do you eat irregularly or have an unbalanced diet? Do you find that your energy fluctuates throughout the day? Do you eat too much? Or do you eat too much of one kind of food? Are you overly focused on food? Do you overly control how or what you eat? Or do you eat less than you know you should?

2. Junk Foods and Nonfoods. Do you use alcohol or drugs frequently? Do you often eat junk foods? Junk foods are often high in sugars, fats, and food additives, which may cause feelings of anxiety or rushes of energy.

3. Exercise. Do you get enough exercise to keep your heart and lungs in peak physical condition? Do you get winded after climbing a flight of stairs? If you exercise infrequently, do you still try to "go all out" and try for maximum performance. (Such sudden outbursts of energy can be dangerous; it is possible to precipitate a coronary this way!) At the end of the day, do you feel enervated or exhausted?

4. Posture. Do you stand or sit for long hours? Do you get backaches, headaches, neck aches, or leg cramps during the day or after work? When you go to sleep, does your body ache or feel tense?

5. Rhythm and Pacing. Is your working pace rushed or abrupt? When caught in a traffic jam, do you often get angry or frustrated? Do you become irritable if you have to wait in a line?

6. Personal Psychology. Are you in conflict about your work or some other aspect of your life? Do you feel as though you need to hurry and that you must be doing something at all times? Do you dislike or not respect yourself? Do you take yourself, your work, or your life too seriously and avoid relaxing or "goofing off"? Are you unrealistically ambitious? Are you depressed about work, your family, or personal life?

7. Sexual Fulfillment. Do you feel comfortable about sex? Are your sexual needs adequately met? Can you "let yourself go" sexually, or do you limit your sexual expression? After having sex, do you feel good? Are you satisfied with your partner and yourself sexually?

8. Spiritual and Creative Fulfillment. Do you feel a lack of meaning in your work or life? Do you have areas of interest or self-expression that you feel are blocked or unfulfilled? Do you avoid being creative or imaginative? Do you feel unconnected?

9. Sensory and Neurological Behavior. Are you the type of person who startles at noises or visual stimulation? Do you get uncomfortable or "motion sick" in moving vehicles? Does movement or walking up or down stairs make you feel dizzy or off-balance? Do you take a long time to recover from stressful events?

10. Personal Interests. Do you fail to take time to do things for yourself? Would you feel guilty if you did something just to satisfy yourself—not for anyone or anything else? Do you make excuses to avoid doing things that you would really like to do by yourself?

As you go through the list, you may identify areas where you would be interested in changing or exploring. Perhaps you’re interested in improving your diet or beginning an exercise program so that you can have more energy and reduce stress. Remember that any type of change takes time and can be stressful initially. Take small steps, and reward yourself for achieving your goals, big or small. Know that you are making positive changes that will give you the big reward in the end of living a balanced and healthy life.

Or maybe you’ll discover areas of your life you have neglected. If your spiritual and creative fulfillment is lacking, make time for yourself to take that pottery class or to join that bowling league you keep putting off because you have made the excuses of not having enough time or having too many obligations. You would encourage your friends to take time off for themselves, so why not do the same for yourself! Exploring new interests and hobbies will make coping with stress and other problems in your life much easier.

With an awareness of your stressors, your next step to stress management is to observe your daily stress coping behavior.