Stress can be regarded as the uninvited guest in our lives. None of us want it, but it still gets the best of us anyway. However, not everything that we know about it is true. In this article, you will know about 10 Stress Myths and Facts that are consuming the thoughts of a lot of people worldwide. Stress is part of human nature and if you believe it is always bad for you, you would always try to avoid it at any price. Chances are you are not pushing yourself to the limits because of your fear of being stressed. The truth is you have the capacity to win over stress. The question is not if you’d ever be exposed to stress, the question is if you’d be able to deal with it. Below are the 10 Stress Myths and Facts that you need to know:

1. Myth: Working too much can cause stress.
Truth: If this is true, then why are there people who can work 80 hours per week and still feel great, while there are some who work less than 40 hours a week and feel awful and stressed? Hence, the basic truth about this is that stress has nothing to do with the number of hours you work. Instead, it has more something to do with how you feel while you are working. If you work 30 hours a week, but your job and workmates always make you feel inadequate and unappreciated, then you will really get stressed.

2. Myth: People with more money are much happier and experience lesser stress.
Truth: You don’t need to experience having a lot of money to know the truth behind this. We are telling you now and sad to say that money can’t buy out stress either. According to research more money doesn’t automatically mean more happiness. Although the rich may have more options, they also have more financial responsibilities to fill, which do not really cause them less stress.

3. Myth: Stress is the same for everybody.
Truth: Just like everybody is unique, so is our response to stress. In other words, stress is definitely not the same for everybody, nor each of us experience stress in the same way. People react to certain stressors differently. For example, while paying bills causes a lot of stress to groups of people, such task isn’t a problem for others.

4. Myth: Stress comes from the circumstances that you experience.
Truth: At first this may seem true, but the truth is it is not. What comes out from our mind about our present circumstances are what really cause stress and not the circumstances themselves. This is also the very reason why people react to situation differently.

5. Myth: Stress is a motivator.
Truth: This is also one of the most popular 10 Stress Myths and Facts, and the reason for this is a simple misunderstanding of stress and stimulation. A lot of people regard stress as the driving factor that leads them to beat deadlines and perform best on certain tasks, but the truth is it is stimulation that does this, not stress. Stress does the opposite because it is the time when you are upset, anxious or frustrated.

6. Myth: The best way to deal with stress is by exercising, breathing and relaxing.
Truth: Like what was mentioned previously, stress is more of a product of how we view things in our life. Hence, physical activities like exercising, breathing and relaxing do not really remove stress. If you are looking for a more effective long-term solution for stress, then, you just have to reframe your thoughts. You should learn how to think differently about situations that challenge you so that stress will be avoided.

7. Myth: Stress can be cured by working less.
Truth: A common misconception in the workplace is that reducing workloads, working hours and having a long vacation leave can take away all the stress. However, according to Danish medical researcher Bo Netterstrøm who has studied workplace stress for 30 years, this is a mistake. People who are hit by stress should gain more self-confidence, which can be achieved by working more and gaining more productive outcomes. In addition, going on a long vacation can be more stressful to an individual because once he comes back to work, he needs to adjust again and to increase his pacing.

8. Myth: Stress is a choice.
Truth: Stress is a product of your subconscious beliefs about the world. In order to eliminate stress, you need to challenge these beliefs so as to change the way you think about them. Doing this is not about choice, it is about insight.

9. Myth: We should only pay attention to the major symptoms of stress.
Truth: This is also the same in saying that we should only disregard a mild cough. The truth, which is universally applicable to other conditions, is that minor symptoms or deviations from what is normal do not really happen in a normal day. Once these symptoms appear, it only means that something is wrong. It might not be a matter of life and death, but are we going to wait for such point for us to care? With regard to stress, people regard headaches and stomach acid as minor symptoms that can be ignored. However, in reality we should really care about these conditions because they serve as early signs that need to be addressed earlier. A change in lifestyle is better than doing nothing.

10. Myth: People who whine about stress are the weaklings.
Truth: According to research, stress really affects our physical and mental health. Too much stress can be detrimental to one’s health, as such if you feel that you are under a lot of stress these days, it will help if you consult your doctor. Stress response is different for different individuals, but the fact is it doesn’t reflect one’s strength or weakness as a person.

You might also be a victim of the 10 Stress Myths and Facts that were discussed in this article, but at least now you know the truth behind them. It’s now within your power to change your ways and deal with stress more effectively, so that once you are caught in a somewhat inescapable stressful situation, you can find your way out just before it consumes the best of you