Combating Stress

For many people, stress is a way of life. Their job, personal relationships, or problems from the past keep them in a constant state of inner turmoil. One might even say such people have a predisposition to stress. They feel stressed when someone else in the same situation would not. Such a person can feel stress even when deliberately trying to relax. After living for years under this invisible burden, it's likely that one's health can break. When that happens, some serious illness will likely occur.
    1. One's prior level of health
    2. A period of stress
    3. Some serious stress-related illness
    4. A period of (usually partial) recovery
    5. One's resulting level of health
    The graph of stress might look like this:
     
If stress is your problem, the following remedies can help reduce your pre-disposition to it. Choose the most appropriate remedy, which is to say, the one that most closely matches your emotional make-up. You may have to use the remedy 2 or 3 times a day for up to 6 weeks before significant change occurs. Stop using the remedy as soon as you feel more relaxed. A sign that the remedy is working would be that an event which formerly would have affected you greatly now seems easier to manage.

After one remedy acts as completely as it can, you can switch to another. However, be certain that the first one has stopped acting before beginning the new one. Sometimes the right remedy can continue to bring change several weeks after you have stopped using it.

To be certain, after you think one remedy has done all it can do, wait 2 weeks before starting any new remedy. With each new remedy you use follow this rule: seek the best match, the most appropriate remedy for your attitude or inner state at that time; stay with it while it works; stop using it when it quits working; take two weeks to watch for changes; repeat this process if necessary.
Because stress can become "a way of life", it often appears invisible. Many people who use Paper Doctor remedies regularly often fail to recognize a situation in which one or more of the stress remedies could be helpful.
It is easier to recognize the need for first aid, or for an illness remedy, than it is to realize at any given moment that one is experiencing a form of stress.
If you suspect that you might be suffering from invisible stresses in your life, and you want to combat them, take a moment to read over the scenarios and remedies listed in Daily Coping, page 308. If one or more of these scenarios seems to fit, try some of the remedies. After all, one of the unique aspects of The Paper Doctor is its ability to provide remedies for psychological complaints. You might as well take advantage of them!