Welcome to Stress and the Single Mom Home Page

This site is devoted to all you single moms out there who want tips on manageing stress in your life. We strive to address all the major causes of stress including financial stress, time management stress, lonliness, raising teens and more.  We all need help manageing stress.  And we’ll help you discover ways to transform that stress into peace, excitement, and contentment. With a few simple strategies, manageing stress can be a breeze. Please contact us with your stories and strategies for manageing stress e-mail us at jeanner@shentel.net Enjoy!

Sleep

I was reading in Prevention Magazine that people who get 7-8 hours of sleep a night stay slimmer more

When Your Child Has a Passion

The stress of raising teens comes in many forms, and not all are bad. For example, my 12 year old son loves to act.  More

Stress is a Call to Action

- by Jeanne Russell
(c) Jeanne Russell - All Rights reserved =====================================

There are lots of articles and web-sites out there that give advice on manageing stress.  We all agree that the effects of long-term stress on our bodies, relationships, and general well-being can be quite debilitating.  But we must not forget that stress is actually a gift.  It is a clear message from our bodies and the universe that says, “Danger! Something needs to change.”  Stress is a definite call to action.

So while it is important to take measures to relieve the symptoms of stress by exercising, meditating, and eating chocolate.  We must not stop there.  Why settle for minimizing stress when we can use it to actually improve our lives?

So how can a person who is so overwhelmed by the pressures of daily living transform the chaos into positive action? Well the first step is to break it down. Stop and write down all the things that are causing you stress.  Often when you look at the issues and separate them from the noise and chaos, you can see that there are a few major issues that are causing stress and the rest of the stuff just seems bigger because it is all mixed up together.

So you look at your list and you will start to see major categories of stress.  Your categories might be:

  • My children’s behavior
  • Money Issues
  • Work Relationships
  • Lack of time
  • Problems raising teens
  • Next you ask yourself, “If I could erase one of those categories of stress today, which one would it be?”  And your answer tells you which category to work on first.

    • Let’s say you decided that money is your number one stressor at the moment.  You make less then you spend. You have bill collectors calling you day and night and you are afraid to answer the phone.  How many of us have been there?

    Anyway, there are two areas that come into play here.  How much you spend and how much you earn. And you need to look at both of them and make a list of several actions that you can take in each area. Can you cancel the cable and quit buying Lattes? Can you ask for a raise and start a side business with long term earning potential?  This article is not about money management but you get the gist.

    You must break it down, create a plan, and then take action. You would be amazed at the stress relieved just by writing it all down.  Somehow when our problems are jangling around in the chaos of our brains, they seem insurmountable but when we take them out and look at them, they are not so bad.

     

    It is very important to break it down. Our brains can only handle so much at once so by separating our problems into categories, we make them more manageable.  By concentrating on one area, you are not neglecting the others. You are focusing and that is important.

    Often is not even what you do that matters, it is just the fact that you are taking control.

    So next time you feel your hair stand on end, stop and thank the universe and then get going toward a better life!

     

     

    Got a problem? Having issues raising teens alone? Go to Ask Jeanne... or see what others have asked.

     

     

    Conquering Stress

     

    A Special Thanks to www.shenandoahconnection.com and www.jeannerussell.com
    for promoting this site!