Are You Keeping Your Stress Alive Using These Blocking Behaviors?

If you are not enjoying the stress-free life you desire it may be due to any one of the three obsessive behaviors which we tend to engage ourselves in. Once you are able to recognize these barriers you can begin to get rid of the problems that go along with being so stressed.

1. Obsessive Negativity

This often indicates that you may have a tendency to be "negative" towards people, situations and other things in life. You just might find yourself saying such things as, "Nothing ever seems to work out for me!" or "Why don't people understand?" These are things that you might be thinking unconsciously, ultimately you have an attitude, which is commonly known as "sour grapes." This attitude will only prevent you from seeing life from it's positive side and enjoying yourself and the people among you.

2. Obsessive Perfectionism

If you engage in obsessive perfectionism you are centering on trying to get things done "just right" until you end up forcing yourself into a state of anxiety. You will say such things as, "If I don't do this just right, then I will likely become a failure!" or "If I don't do this just so, people will be angry with me!" You are probably unaware of this behavior and it will interfere with your chance to enjoy life without feeling "stressed" or "uptight."

3. Obsessive Analysis

If you are using this blocking behavior you will discover that you will want to re-hash an issue or task repeatedly. For example you may say to yourself, "I can't relax until I have studied this until I clearly know everything about it." or "If I just relax now and let this go without checking it over several times, things could go wrong!"

Analytical thinking is a great trait, however, if you over do it you will not get the chance to stop and smell the roses because you are too busy analyzing everyone and everything around you. It is important to gain insight into this sort of behavior in order to let go of your stress and get power over your anxiety.

There are a couple of things that you can do if you engage in any of these "Blocking Behaviors." First you can ask people who you know, love and trust if you have a negative attitude, if you complain too much or if you are difficult to be around.

Hearing the truth may be hurtful, but such knowledge about yourself is invaluable and you will then know for certain how other people see you. Remember, if you ask, you want nothing but their honest opinion and know that you will gain amazing insight from what you hear.

Second, try keeping a journal and write down when you are using any of these "blocking behaviors." You may not be thrilled with the thought of writing things down but you will begin to see a pattern in your behavior that reveals what it is that you have been doing to prevent yourself from curing your anxiety.

Recognizing when these blocking behaviors occur is the first step in the "healing" stage towards conquering your stress.

Michael B. Roth, DC

Balancing Your Emotional Health

Stress Management and the Mind/Body Connection