Tag: stress

Stress is everywhere. In a society that often glorifies constant productivity, appearances, and staying busy, it can feel impossible to slow down and enjoy the moment. With technology feeding us a constant stream of information, reducing stress can be a real challenge. Personally, I struggle with putting my phone down, afraid of missing out — the FOMO is real. So, the question becomes: how can we effectively manage stress in today’s world?

Johann Hari, in Stolen Focus: Why You Can’t Pay Attention – and How to Think Deeply Again, discusses his own battle with stress and how disconnecting in Provincetown helped him regain control of it. He talks about how our surroundings and the people in our lives can significantly impact our stress levels. Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, in her research and work in pediatrics, emphasizes the importance of feeling safe to focus effectively. She explains that in secure environments, our minds can switch off distractions and dive deeply into a single task. Similarly, Dr. Jon Jureidini, a child psychiatrist in Adelaide, Australia, states that our minds can only relax when we feel safe. When we sense danger, even subconsciously, our minds become hypervigilant, always on the lookout for potential threats.

I can relate to this as I think back to my own childhood. When I was younger, I could easily spend hours completely focused on one thing—whether it was drawing an entire neighborhood in my driveway with chalk, complete with intersections and unique house designs, or building a town out of blocks. My mom used to say that during the holidays, it would take me days to open all my gifts. I’d open one present and play with it for hours before even thinking about the next one. That level of focus was possible because my environment was free from stress.

As an adult, things are different. Juggling multiple responsibilities—working full-time, attending grad school part-time, managing finances, maintaining relationships—takes a toll. It’s no wonder my attention span has decreased; there’s just more to handle now. I could focus so well on drawing those neighborhoods in my driveway because I didn’t have the stress that comes with adult life.

So, how do we manage stress as adults? In my experience, it’s much harder than it was when we were kids with fewer responsibilities. I’ve learned that when we’re in a safe, comfortable environment, we can try to adopt Dr. Harris’s approach: focus on one thing at a time. When I manage to do this, it works most of the time. It can still be difficult to stay focused on just one task. In those moments, I believe we should try to control the distractions within our reach. Put the phone, the watch, the other technology aside, and give yourself permission to be fully present with whatever you’re working on. When we do that, our stress levels might just take a dip.