Although the degrees of stress varies from individual to individual, we do live in a world that is full of stress and it is well documented that unmanaged stress can kill you.  Pastor Richard Casteel, Senior Pastor of Grace Chapel in Scottsdale, Arizona put it very succinctly, “If you don’t learn to control your stress, your stress will control you.”

Dr. Don Colbert, in his book, Stress Less, lists four categories of stress:

1.    Physical Stress
Physical stress can come from lack of sleep, being overworked, physical disease or chronic pain.

2.    Emotional and Mental Stress
Emotional stress is also called psychological stress and is triggered by negative emotions such as anger, hostility, depression, anxiety, etc.

3.    Chemical Stress
Chemical stress comes from excessive use of various substances such as sugar, caffeine, stimulants, and food additives.  Chemical stress can also be related to chemicals in our environment.

4.    Thermal Stress
Thermal stress is related to being exposed to extremes in temperature, either hot or cold, for prolonged periods of time.

Colbert goes on to give us this picturesque analogy:
You can transform your thoughts; you can change the way you think.  You can “rewire” the thought patterns in your minds and adopt new thought habits.  You can alter your perceptions and reactions so that you are able to flow with a stressful situation, much as a surfer rides a wave and lets the wave carry him toward the beach, in contrast to a swimmer who fights a riptide that seems to suck him back out to sea.

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