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Over the years I’ve come to know what helps me with stress. My recipe follows the ESP approach we’ve used in our health initiative, Raising Up Healthy Women and Girls.
For the E, my emotional health, I need to limit my critical nature, give and seek forgiveness, and let go of my need to control things. For the S, my spiritual health, I need to ground my days in worship and prayer, come to the communion table regularly, and study God’s Word in community. For the P, my physical health, I need to limit carbohydrates, exercise more and laugh a lot.
Stress does not magically go away when I’m monitoring my ESP. I live in a large urban environment, with a complicated family life, in a country that’s marked by political upheaval, racism, violence and poverty, in a world that filled with trauma, war, and strife.
But when I’m paying attention to my ESP, I’m better equipped to handle the stress. I put the challenges in perspective, turn to God for guidance and find comfort and solace in community. When we live our lives grounded in faith, we are better equipped to handle whatever comes our way.
This message is excerpted from “What are you doing about stress?” by Linda Post Bushkofsky from the April 8, 2019, blog of the Women of the ELCA.