What Is A “Stress Tsunami”?

What Is A "Stress Tsunami"?

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the serious stress managingI had to do when I lost my USB drive.

Sometimes, when dealing with a stressful event, we can mange the immediate impact pretty well. However, that doesn’t mean our stress management work is done!

A good example is my lost USB drive…..

Over the past couple weeks I have noticed myself struggling at times with my focus, energy, & motivation. For me, these happen to be a couple of my stress responses. I found myself needing to “manage” my way though them.

So, I wanted to call attention this week to what I discovered over 20 years ago. I call it  “Stress Tsunami“.

Think of stress as being like an earthquake that happens in our lives & can ‘shake things up’.

Sometimes when an earthquake hits near a body of water, it can cause a tidal wave, or a tsunami. This does’t happen right away, it is actually a delayed response.

The same thing can happen to us when we are dealing with stress. Stress hits us & then, sometimes, we can still be hit several days (or weeks) later with a tidal wave or  “tsunami”  of more stress responses. Just as we’re limited in preventing an earthquake tsunami from happening, we can be limited in preventing a “Stress Tsunami” from happening.

The best way to manage & get through a “Stress Tsunami” is by taking the following actions:

  1. Recognize it – become very aware of your stress responses.
  2. Accept it – avoid making it worse with a negative attitude.
  3. Manage it – Use your LifeTools to minimize it’s impact on you & your health.

 

About Carol Rickard, LCSW

Carol L. Rickard, LCSW, is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with over 30 years of experience specializing in stress management and wellness program development for healthcare and corporate settings. Known as "America's Workplace Wellbeing Authority" Carol specializes in creating practical, evidence-based training solutions for high-stress professionals. As founder and CEO of WellYOUniversity, LLC, Carol has trained thousands of healthcare workers, corporate teams, and organizational leaders. Her evidence-based approach, called SMARTheory™, transforms complex wellness concepts into immediately actionable tools that work during 12-hour shifts, high-pressure meetings, and real-world crises. A prolific author, Carol has written 25 books on stress and wellness, contributed weekly to Esperanza Magazine, and created "The WELL YOU Show", a nationally syndicated wellness show on Central New Jersey Network. She has been featured expert in national media outlets and speaks regularly at conferences, healthcare systems, and corporate events. Carol's expertise spans keynote presentations, comprehensive training programs, organizational wellness consulting, and crisis response training. Her clients consistently praise her ability to deliver practical strategies that participants can implement immediately, creating lasting change in both professional and personal settings.

Leave a Comment