Of course you are!
Just look at where we are almost one year later. We didn't sign up for this, no one signed up for this and everyone, everyone has been affected in some way, shape or form. So why did I ask you if you're stressed out?
I'm not suggesting you "calm" down...we all know how that goes over and quite frankly, you can't get there from the intense feelings you are having. However, if you pull apart the threads of stress and relabel them as perhaps another "sensation" then all of a sudden you have options.
I just finished the second weekend of our NLP Practitioner training on Growth Mindset and we spent one full day on stress. The idea that if we reframe stress so that it is a behaviour we do rather than something that happens to us then we become empowered to find the utility within it. I know. Ouch. If it's a behaviour then we have some say in whether or not we want to change it. It's much easier to think of stress as something that is happening to us because of circumstances outside of our control rather than a behavioural response we have to something. So much easier to blame something/one else.
Stay with me here for a second. Think about it. If every time you feel certain sensations in your body you call it "stress", what are you possibly ruling out? Maybe for you stress shows up as an increased heart rate or a tension that occurs in some of your muscles or how you stand, perhaps even a little bit of adrenalin - ask yourself -"what else could this be"?
So take a minute right now to try this. (I suggest that you read through first and then do)
Think of a time you were motivated to do something. Whatever pops up in your head right now, trust that it came up for a useful reason.
Now, go back to that particular memory that just came up for you and explore it for a minute or two. Maybe close your eyes and really re-live that experience of what it was like for you to be motivated to do something.
Notice where being motivated shows up for you in your body. Track down through your body from the top of your head to the tip of your toes and notice what sensations you may be feeling physically. Tension /relaxation, tingling/tightness, warmth /coolness, faster heart beat etc.
Then check in with what you were hearing in this particular memory. Was there sound in your head? Was there sound outside of your head? Notice loudness or softness, how near or far the sound was from you. Did it have a rhythm?
Now check in with your vision in this particular memory of being motivated to do something. Notice if the picture is still or moving. Colour or black and white. In focus or blurry. Are you in the picture or is the picture through your own eyes? If you can't see a picture, imagine what it would look like.
You could also try remembering a time when you felt strong, alert or energetic, any state of being that has some tension and energy in it; maybe some adrenalin and an increased heart rate as well. When you stop and relabel those feelings in your body (because I'm thinking that this is the first notification you get that tells you that you are stressed) notice what is different when you change the meaning.
How do you do this when you start feeling stressed? By practicing other options for those feelings when you are not experiencing stress. Then when you start to feel those sensations you can check in with yourself and ask, is this really stress? What else could it be?
Now you have options for those sensations and who doesn't like options?
If you would like to explore other options for stress, feel free to Contact me for a zero obligation chat. It's always good to hear from you!