SURPRISED BY JOY (1)

First, let’s look at a few facts about stress: Certain stressors, from lack of sleep to noise and even heat, are biologically threatening to our physical functioning.

Other stressors (by far the majority) are often only threatening because we consciously or unconsciously perceive them to be threatening. These might range from the loss of a loved one to running out of gas. They also include work overload, time pressures, poor social relationships, and constant interruptions.

Our resulting reaction to these stressors is called the “fight-or-flight” response. This instinctual reaction enables us to rise to the occasion, such as performing unusual feats of endurance and strength. However, it is ideally suited to handling only short-term challenges and emergencies.

So when a particular stressor or series of them requiring a “flight or fight” response is continuous for months or years because of our life situation, the body and mind sustain strain and ultimately injury unless some other remedy is found to handle the stress.

The symptoms of a long-term “fight-or-flight” stress response will vary from person to person according to their weaker areas in personal health. (You can check for stress symptoms in the appendix.) These “red flags” tell us that we are heading for a complete breakdown in mental and/or physical health unless we reduce the impact of, or eliminate altogether, the stressor.

Yet stressors often cannot be easily isolated. Stress is woven into our lives, and this is not a book designed to show you how to handle a particular kind or group of stressors. Instead, by looking at a life story, you will better understand both how stress works generally on you over time, and how God intervenes, perhaps even using the stress itself to show you can win the battle to overcome it.