Dealing with stress

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nMbR1BaRlOwGiRl

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I find myself overly stressed CONSTANTLY. I feel like I never get a break, and I’m completely forgetting about God. He used to be so present in my life, and now I feel like all of my stress from other things is pulling me away from Him.

I just got an email from a friend of mine who’s a seminarian that said that we need to give God our entire selves, and not just what’s leftover after we give the rest of ourselves to the world. (For me that would be my time. I give it all to what I’m involved in at school and other organizations, etc, and none to God.)

I’m always putting Him last, but the problem is, I have no idea how to put Him first! I can’t just give up school, but it’s taking so much of my time up, I have none left for Him. I REALLY hate this!

Any ideas of what I could do?

Thanks,
Jaclyn
 
Make your schoolwork and activities your prayer by offering them to God and doing them as perfectly as you can. Check in with God at the beginning and the end of the day, perhaps with a Morning Offering when you arise and a brief examination of conscience followed by an act of Contrition when you go to bed.

Did you have an imaginary friend as a child? Someone who followed you around and conversed with you? Treat God the same way - converse casually with Him as you go about your many tasks, and you will grow in love for Him.

If you commit to something small and doable like this plan, later on you may find yourself drawn to more formal prayer. Don’t overwhelm yourself and set yourself up for failure. Start small and grow.

Betsy
 
We are called by God to use the gifts he gave to us to the best of our ability. Being in school right now, immersing yourself in all that entails, is following God’s call for you.

What baltobetsy recommends is the best approach: make sure that you do all the things you do throughout the day in praise and honor of him. Start with the morning prayer and invoking your guardian angel, and finish with an evening prayer praising him for another fruitful, yet exhausting, day.

It is not either school or God. It is God through school.

Going through school is how you grow closer to God by allowing him to work through you with those you encounter, by taking in the knowledge he feels you need in order to enter the profession you feel he is calling you to so that you can help even more people in that capacity.

Getting your education is part of your vocation as a single person. If, someday, you are called to marriage and children, you’ll find yourself in the same predicament; feeling stressed about not having enough time for God with all the hustle and bustle of the family. But remember, family IS loving God, it can be a form of prayer depending on how you approach and offer every moment of every day for him. Same with school.
 
nMbR1BaRlOwGiRl said:
I find myself overly stressed CONSTANTLY. I feel like I never get a break, and I’m completely forgetting about God. He used to be so present in my life, and now I feel like all of my stress from other things is pulling me away from Him.

I just got an email from a friend of mine who’s a seminarian that said that we need to give God our entire selves, and not just what’s leftover after we give the rest of ourselves to the world. (For me that would be my time. I give it all to what I’m involved in at school and other organizations, etc, and none to God.)

I’m always putting Him last, but the problem is, I have no idea how to put Him first! I can’t just give up school, but it’s taking so much of my time up, I have none left for Him. I REALLY hate this!

Any ideas of what I could do?

Thanks,
Jaclyn
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I feel the same way sometimes. I have found that the best remedy for dealing with the weariness of everyday life (especially school life) is to pray. When my school day is over, I force myself to pray the rosary, eventhough I may feel too tired to, or just not want to, I get myself to kneel at my bedside and pray the rosary. This helps tremendously.

catholiceducation.org/articles/apologetics/ap0090.html
this link gave me a new look on how I can get closer to God in everyday life, through my regular routine.

Hope it helps
 
I feel for you and can relate. I have also not been very good at dealing with stress.

One thing I would like to say is, don’t add even MORE stress to yourself by making yourself feel guilty. (I am not sure if you are scrupulous like me, but just in case.)😉

There are really so many ways of honoring God. Can’t we honor God in the things we do, the things we NEED to do? using our talents and gifts, as somebody has mentioned before, is a way of honoring God, isn’t it?

Sometimes I like to think of Jesus as a friend Who is there with me.
Or, you know, just try to feel God’s presence. In whatever you do. Because He is ALWAYS there. Even while you’re stressed, while you’re worried, while things are hectic - you are not alone. Just remembering that puts God back into your life (I mean, He is there anyway, but it makes you aware of His presence).

Kathrin
 
I read the following in the Ask an Apologetic section the other day. What Father Serpa says totally helps me with my own stresses and anxieties. I have cut and pasted his response and posted a link to where I got this from, in case anyone is interested.

forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=201620
Dear Friend,

There aren’t enough hours in the day to worry about all that is wrong. But we have the anti-worry, anti-anxiety antidote: Good Friday. I suggest that you spend quality time daily, reflecting on the passion of the Lord and how vulnerable He made Himself. His vulnerability is our shield against vulnerability. The worst thing that can happen to us here is that we die. But by His death our death becomes a birth. He is shoulder to shoulder with us in our human journey.

I suggest that you look at a crucifix (before the Blessed Sacrament if possible) and reflect on His agony in the garden—which was really the agony in His mind. Anxiety is a mind thing. He suffered it to the point of sweating blood. He is with you in this and He alone can put your mind to rest.

Then reflect on and thank Him for enduring the betrayal by Judas, the denials by Peter and the abandonment by the Apostles. Thank Him for enduring the arrest and the cruelty of the guards and members of the Sanhedrin. Thank Him for enduring the endless interrogations and that long night. Thank Him for enduring the brutal scourging which robbed Him of blood and strength and left Him with a pounding headache that remained with Him until death. Thank Him for enduring the mockery and crown of thorns that caused such pain—and the rejection at the praetorium. Thank Him for carrying the cross which caused such extreme shoulder pain—and for falling onto the filthy stone streets with the cross on top of Him—and getting up each time. Thank His for receiving the nails into His hands and feet. Thank Him for struggling to push down on his nailed feet to raise His body in order to fill His lungs with air as He hung on the cross once it was raised into place. Thank Him for enduring such agony for three hours until His strength gave out in that eternal moment when He gave up His spirit and died—giving us His life.

If one is suffering from clinical anxiety, then one ought to see a professional who specializes in such psychological difficulties.

Otherwise such awareness always puts our lives into perspective. Do this every day—and you won’t suffer from anxiety….

Fr. Vincent Serpa, O.P.
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This reminds me of what a priest I know often says if I confess about impatience: To remember how patiently Christ bore his suffering… That can help a lot.

Kathrin
 
The Morning Offering. Start your day - even before you get off the bed - as your eyes open and your mind clears - with the Sign of the Cross and the Morning Offering. That prayer gives your day and everything in it to God. If we fail to do more during the day, but are sincere in that prayer, I believe it’s a good start.

And of late, I open my eyes remembering my Mom is so recently gone. I also add an “Eternal Rest grant unto her O, Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon her. May she rest in peace. May her soul, and all the souls, etc…” and continue the prayer. While I’ve been sleeping, I don’t know how sorely she may have needed a prayer.

Pray for the Poor Souls in Purgatory,
Conservative
 
Thanks so much everyone. I’ve spoken with my parish priest also about this, and I’ve learned that I really need to organize my day so that I can find the time to pray to God. Thanks for all the great advice. I will be sure to try them.
God Bless you all.
 
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