This blog is my place to vent and share resources with other parents of children of trauma. I try to be open and honest about my feelings in order to help others know they are not alone. Therapeutic parenting of adopted teenagers with RAD and other severe mental illnesses and issues (plus "neurotypical" teens) , is not easy, and there are time when I say what I feel... at the moment. We're all human!

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Stress management e-mail

Received this e-mail recently and felt it was very apropos. There was no listed author.

Stress management

A young lady in front of the room, confidently walked around while leading and explaining stress management to an audience; with a raised glass of water, and everyone knew she was going to ask the ultimate question, 'half empty or half full?' .... she fooled them all... 'How heavy is this glass of water?' she inquired with a smile.

Answers called out ranged from 8oz. to 20oz.

The lecturer replied, 'The absolute weight doesn't matter. It depends on how long you hold it.''If I hold it for a minute, that's not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my right arm. "If I hold it for a day, you'll have to call an ambulance.

''In each case it's the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes.'

She continued, 'And that's the way it is with stress management. If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes increasingly heavy, we won't be able to carry on.''

As with the glass of water, you have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again. When we're refreshed, we can carry on with the burden - holding stress longer and better each time practiced.

''So, before you return home tonight, put the burden of work/life down. Don't carry it home... pick it up tomorrow.

''Whatever burdens you're carrying now, let them down for a moment if you can.

Relax; pick them up later after you've rested.

Life is short.

Enjoy it and the now 'supposed' stress that you've conquered!

And then she shared some ways of dealing with the burdens of life:

1 * Accept that some days you're the pigeon, and some days you're the statue.
2 * Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them.

3 * Always read stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it.

4 * Drive carefully... It's not only cars that can be recalled by their Maker.

5 * If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.

6 * If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.


7 * It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others.

8 * Never buy a car you can't push.

9 * Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time, because then you won't have a leg to stand on.

10 * Nobody cares if you can't dance well.. Just get up and dance.





11 * Since it's the early worm that gets eaten by the bird, sleep late.

12 * The second mouse gets the cheese.

13 * When everything's coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.


14 * Birthdays are good for you. The more you have, the longer you live.

15 * You may be only one person in the world, but you may also be the world to one person.


16 * Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once.


17 * We could learn a lot from crayons. Some are sharp, some are pretty and some are dull. Some have weird names and all are different colors, but they all have to live in the same box.

18 * A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.

3 comments:

Foster Mama said...

Thats was awesome...thank you, just what I needed to hear.

Jeri said...

Bring him on. Maybe we could trade? You can have my biodaughter who is turning 13 in a week. She is full of being a teen and hormones.

Really though. Would love to have you guys visit. I'm a stay at home mom with my four, for now (I'm job hunting).

I think you have my e-mail, but if not, it's mbrush @ austin. rr. com.

Mary in Texas

Ha! I'll see your almost 13 year old with my officially today 14 year old.Yes, I'll be emailing you tonight. jeri

josie said...

That is great, thanks for posting. Sometimes we do just need a few well placed words of wisdom. helps to get perspective.