Stress Quotes

“Everything has
its own pace
its own timing.

True of working, studying, learning.
True of illness, sorrow, grief.
True of change, of transformation.
True of conflict.
True of peace.

You can't change the pace
without changing its nature,
changing the experience.
And the experience is its own end.

The end never justifies the means
because every means is its own end.

It's not just about you,
your natural pace,
it's about what you're doing
what's being done
butterfly effects
over miles and years.

The river will not be pushed.
The rain will not cease until it has finished pouring down.
The sun will not rise before dawn.

This is where we are.”
― Shellen Lubin

“The end never justifies the means
because every means is its own end.”
― Shellen Lubin

“People do tend to burrow in
for winter holidays
but then
burrowing can be as damaging
(implosion, avoidance)
as it can be cozy
(buzzword: self-care)
maybe one maybe t'other
maybe some of both.”
― Shellen Lubin

“When the world is so fraught and full of fire--
hearts and minds and countries
burning up
burning down--
going in may be
the escape urge--
as if it's no longer there--
but it's all still there
all the time--
reading news or not--
outside looking at seasonal lights
store window displays
children's cherry-cheeked faces
or not--
even when heads are buried in pillows.

Take a break to breathe. The frenzy and furor continue.
Take a break to weep. The exquisite beauty is still there.

All continues on
and will be there upon return.”
― Shellen Lubin

“I was in doubt, and then everything took a hue of unreality, and I did not know what to trust, even the evidence of my own senses. Not knowing what to trust, I did not know what to do; and so had only to keep on working in what had hitherto been the groove of my life. The groove ceased to avail me, and I mistrusted myself... You don't know what it is to doubt everything, even yourself... It was the doubt as to the reality of the whole thing that knocked me over. I felt impotent, and in the dark, and distrustful. But now that I know, I am not afraid...”
― Bram Stoker, Dracula

“Resolver los problemas incorrectos, incluso de manera eficiente, en realidad tiene consecuencias negativas”
― Juan I. Fernández, Libertad para Gente Inteligente: De la cognición a la acción

“Researchers have shown that the flooding of stress hormones resulting from a traumatic separation from your parents at a young age kills off so many dendrites and neurons in the brain that it results in permanent psychological and physical changes. One psychiatrist I went to told me that my brain looked like a tree without branches.

So I just think about all the children who have been separated from their parents, and there's a lot of us, past and present, and some under more traumatic circumstances than others--like those who are in internment camps right now--and I just imagine us as an army of mutants. We’ve all been touched by this monster, and our brains are forever changed, and we all have trees without branches in there, and what will happen to us? Who will we become? Who will take care of us?”
― Karla Cornejo Villavicencio, The Undocumented Americans

“This man was a high-powered operator, but also prone to overwork. He earned a high salary, but he couldn’t use it now that he was dead. He wore Armani suits and drove a Jaguar, but finally he was just another ant, working and working until he died without meaning. The very fact that he existed in this world would eventually be forgotten. “Such a shame, he was so young,” people might say. Or they might not.”
― Haruki Murakami, 1Q84

“When faced with complexity, the answer is simplicity.”
― George Choy, Simplicity Secret: How to Reduce Overwhelm and Stress, Make More Money, Improve Your Health and Fitness, and Be Happier

“Most people don't think we even look like brothers," I said.
"You do when you're asleep," she said. "Your face relaxes, and you stop worrying, and all that grit you two carry around falls away, and you're just you.”
― Gary D. Schmidt, The Labors of Hercules Beal

“I've fallen deep into a dark unkind hole. But I will not die. I will not die.”
― Mitta Xinindlu

“The mind can go either direction under stress - toward positive or toward negative: on or off. Think of it as a spectrum whose extremes are unconsciousness at the negative end and hyperconsciousness at the positive end. The way the mind will lean under stress is strongly influenced by training.”
― Frank Herbert, Dune

“In a moment of stress, reality roars. Some are overwhelmed by the rush of events. Others arrive at a place of sudden clarity unfiltered by thought. Excitement burns away the inessential. Time seems to slow. The warrior flows calmly through his experience, his thoughts bounding ahead of the tumult.”
― Jack Kelly

“Storms pass and clouds give way to the sun, so do depressions' shadows, revealing the resilient spirit within.”
― Abhysheq Shukla, KISS Life "Life is what you make it"

“Behind the closed door.
To herself she talks and cry.
With each little sob and sigh,
Fire in her heart will burn no more.”
― Rabson Kashamba, Whispers from Within

“When you’re stressed, simplify the rest.”
― George Choy, Simplicity Secret: How to Reduce Overwhelm and Stress, Make More Money, Improve Your Health and Fitness, and Be Happier

“The best life assurance is knowing that whenever our spirits are crashed by events, we have a shoulder to cry on without being judged.”
― Njau Kihia

“spring is the season of life, starting fresh, whatever.”
― shreya sophie k., poetic insomnia

“Psychological health encompasses more than just the absence of illness. It involves resilience, self-awareness, and a willingness to seek help when needed.”
― Abhysheq Shukla

“Clearly, Life never appears to be easy. And everyone feels beaten and emotionally broken at some point or the other when trying to cope with the upheavals of everyday living. To last each tough day, and to wake up afresh to take on the next tough one, is a great act of heroism. So be kind to yourself. Be gentle with yourself. And celebrate yourself.”
― Vaani Anand and AVIS Viswanathan

“Studies show definite negative health consequences to those who hold jobs that offer them low intellectual discretion (a measure of how repetitive a job is) and little freedom of schedule (such as the ability to take a break at one’s discretion). Those holding such jobs are at significantly higher risk for coronary heart disease. A more recent meta-analysis revealed that the risks go beyond coronary heart disease to include significantly higher rates of all-cause morality for workers with low job control. Lack of occupational freedom kills!”
― Gad Saad, The Saad Truth about Happiness: 8 Secrets for Leading the Good Life

“Going for a weekend silent retreat might be a wonderful idea. Doing so for a decade might be a terrible idea, as humans flourish in communicative sociality. Too much of anything even a good thing, can become detrimental.”
― Gad Saad, The Saad Truth about Happiness: 8 Secrets for Leading the Good Life

“The opposite of living a life driven by emotions, goals, or other people is a values-driven life. A values-driven life is one in which your values function as the internal compass guiding you toward and helping you define your goals in life. To live a values-driven life is at times much more challenging than being led by our emotions, goals or other people because it means we have to face our avoidance, identify it and often recalibrate our lives toward what matters most to us. To do so, you will have to make decisions that in the moment might lead to more discomfort but will yield more long-term fulfillment.”
― Luana Marques, Bold Move: A 3-Step Plan to Transform Anxiety into Power

“Do all Boomers think Millennials are riven with anxiety? Maybe we are. But maybe we’re justified in feeling that way about a lot of things. The world’s in a pretty sorry state.”
― I.M. Millennial, A Year in Boomertown: A Memoir

“Religious trauma resides in our bodies and nervous systems in the same way that trauma from war, developmental trauma, or sexualized trauma live inside us. Though the triggers and environment of the original trauma may differ, how religious trauma lives in our bodies, on a physiological level, is the same.”
― Laura E. Anderson, When Religion Hurts You: Healing from Religious Trauma and the Impact of High-Control Religion

“Peace of mind isn't about what you do have, it's about what you don't have.”
― Aegelis, Specks of Shadows, Flecks of Light

“Observing life in general, people very broadly seem to fall into two main camps: those who seem to have mastered the knack of successful living and those who still find it all a bit of a struggle.
And when I say successfully mastered it, I don't mean by amassing wealth or being at the top in some stressful career.
People who are healthy and getting more out of life. Those who are still struggling tend to be not so happy on the whole, and the enjoyment of life just isn't what it should be.”
― Richard Templar, The Rules of Life: A personal code for living a better, happier, more successful kind of life

“Trying to make a movie is a tawdry, soul-crushing, stress-inducing, backstabbing, sleep-deprived, caffeine-overdosed nightmare—and that's just Tuesday.”
― Don Roff

“This isn’t your fault, you know. It really isn’t. You’ll get through this.”
― Ishmael Beah, A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier

“To let go of worry in a hurry, challenge your assumptions.”
― Denise Marek, CALM for Moms: Worry Less in Four Simple Steps