This post is taking part in Brody Harper’s Positive Tuesday Blog Carnival.

Please Note: While this Positive Post Tuesday entry is not about one particular person, it does address the idea of how to stay positive in a stress filled world.

Where do you find your sense of calm?

Unless you never pick up a newspaper, listen to the news on the radio, or watch the news on TV, you’re well aware of the fact there’s quite a bit going on in the world these days. Just this morning there’s news of another overseas terrorist attack. In upper New York State there’s a story about a soldier from Auburn, New York who was killed in Afghanistan. A little closer to home, gas prices are up and down like a yo-yo. In some southern States, stations are actually running out of gas. Then, add on top of that the fact that the financial markets seem very unstable and for some reason, the government thinks throwing money at the problem will fix it.

In the midst of all those issues, personal problems can add to stress levels too. Maybe you have a newborn. Maybe you have a child getting ready to start school. Or, possibly you have a child heading to college, or even getting ready to join the work force for the first time. It’s easy to see many aspects in life can add to the stress level in ones life. What do we do relieve some of that stress? All too often most people wait too long to figure out what to do. Time and time again we hear of people having some kind of a breakdown. On the surface people say – “Why? How did this happen?” – But, when we go beyond just scratching the surface, we discover a number of events probably led up to the ultimate breakdown.

So, again, I ask – How do we keep a sense of a calm in the midst of life?

Personally, I think we’ve made much of life brain surgery. For some reason we tend to make life more difficult than it really is. If you find yourself being set off by the little things in life, then it’s probably time to step back and re-assess what you believe is important in life. Now I’m not saying we need to live in some kind of fairy tale land where we believe nothing bad is happening. But, there are ways we can manage stress better, and many times it’s simply by disconnecting to a few things around you.

Dr. Rodger Murphree is a frequent guest on my Live Line talk show. During a recent interview we chatted about stress. Dr. Murphree noted that Americans now spend more money on antidepressants than the Gross National Product of two-thirds of the world’s countries. Dr. Murphree went on to say “studies consistently show that in up to 70% of the time, these drugs are no better than a sugar pill.” Dr. Murphree quickly noted that he’s not saying no one should take the drugs. But he did point out that many times medications such as Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft and Cymbalta are prescribed too quickly. He said it’s almost like people think they have a “Prozac deficiency.” The fact of the matter is, most people simply have a B6 vitamin insufficiency. In other words, many simply need to take a daily multi-vitamin, instead of loading up on the so-called stress-relieving drugs.

Another aspect of life adding unneeded pressure is technology. In her book Prisoners of Technology Lisa Whaley says; “It’s time to get unplugged!” In the book Whaley writes,

“Instead of making life easier, technology has introduced complexity. Instead of giving us more time with family, technology has pulled family members away from each other and toward their devices. As a result, it’s time to step away from the keyboard, email, cell phone and GPS devices and instead position ourselves to give a loved one a hug or wave at our neighbor.”

Have you noticed how plugged in kids are these days? When was the last time you walked through a mall and saw a group of teenagers simply talking with one another? Instead, they walk through the mall side by side, texting one another! I’m with Lisa on this one — It’s time to get unplugged! — Of course once you unplug, you may also find yourself living with a little less stress. Suddenly when you’re unplugged, you’re not bombarded with information overload. Do you really need a constant stream of breaking news updates on your cell phone, email or Twitter from CNN, Fox News, CBS, NBC and ABC? As a matter of fact, I recently stopped following Fox News on my Twitter account simply because I got tired of their updates which came in about every 30 seconds.

The bottom line is this, we live in a world where stress factors can climb and climb and climb. But, as we journey through this thing we call life, we also need to find a way to discover a sense of calm. I’m not saying we need to become hermits. However, we do need to find a sense of balance. Remember, it doesn’t have to be brain surgery. It could be as easy as taking a daily multi-vitamin and unplugging from technology when you walk through the door of your home. Turn off the cell phone, check your home email once. Then, sit back and enjoy some time with your family. Maybe you’ll discover life isn’t as stressful as you once thought.

A Fellow Sojourner,
Dr. Rus