Recognizing and Resolving Struggle

A framework for identifying and overcoming stress, anxiety, and frustration.

Good morning!

Occasionally I stumble onto an idea or experience that warrants more investigation than Prompted’s typical format allows for. These ideas tend to start out as short reflections but quickly morph into long-form essays dissecting ideas and laying out frameworks or concepts. The essay below grew out of an experience I had a few weeks ago that seemed too powerful not to share.

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As always, I hope Prompted helps you think a bit differently and investigate ideas further than you might on your own. Thanks for reading!

Kevin

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Recognizing and Resolving Struggle

Delaware River - Philadelphia, PA

When something isn’t going our way, it affects every domain of our lives. Problems at work affect us at home and vice versa. Even the smallest frustrations, like getting cut off while driving, leak into the rest of our lives and poison how we interact with others.

One thing leads to the next, and before we know it, we’re clenching our teeth, saying something we regret. Or we’re so exhausted from stress and anxiety weighing us down that we can’t bring ourselves to do anything more than watch tv and veg out.

Half the time, we don’t even realize how frustrated, angry, or stressed we are, and when we do recognize what’s going on, we lean into the emotion and start slamming doors and honking horns to make it known.

Even minor disturbances in our mood have the power to derail an entire day and turn what could have been a good or even a great day turns into one we describe as “fine” through clenched teeth.

I recently experienced a bout of stress and anxiety that had been reoccurring for days before I recognized it and was taking a toll on my well-being. I didn’t notice what was happening until I boiled over.

After the issue reached a point where I was forced to do something about it, I blindly started trying techniques to calm myself down and get back to normal. I felt like a fish out of water, but after 15 minutes, I stumbled into resolving the issue and feeling 100 times better.

After I calmed down and got back to work, I looked back at my flailing attempts to resolve the issue and realized I moved through a distinct process. It was so powerful I feel compelled to share the framework here for identifying and resolving struggles, stress, anxiety, or anger as it arises.