There is a balancing act between our coping abilities and our stressors. We have external stress, like traffic, demands from family and work. We also have internal stress, like negative thinking and physical pain. When these stressors outweigh our ability to cope, the result is “distress.”
Distress is a chronic state of not enough; not enough time, not enough help, not enough money. It makes the little things seem like HUGE things.
For example, have you noticed that there are sadists in the billing departments of various companies who deliberately misalign the perforations on your invoice with the paper fold? Wouldn’t it be easy to make the paper fold and the perforation match? I know this isn’t a huge deal in the general scope of things, but when you are on your last nerve and what should be a crisp detach of the payment coupon becomes a ragged mess, this IS a big deal!
Snow Plows
They sit in the shadows waiting for us to shovel our driveways, only to pounce on the driveway apron and create a re-do. No one will convince me this isn’t deliberate.
Technology. Just when I, a fossil, figure out how to navigate online, another group of sadists “improves” a process, causing another adjustment. I have learned not to congratulate myself and bask in my ability to master anything online, because an “improvement” is coming around the next corner.
I could go on, but I may be giving you more external stress!
With love,
Rosanne
