Effects of Stress - Do You Avoid Confrontation?

When you’re already dealing with the effects of stress on so many levels, why in the world would you want to confront someone who has offended you when it will only add to the already huge pile of stress you’re dealing with at the moment?

You may be a very even tempered, kind natured person who thrives on peace and hates confrontation—but if you are unable to “find” your voice and convey what it is that disturbs you, you’re in effect stuffing stress that will eventually come back to haunt you. Just because you’ve successfully avoided confrontation and “kept the peace” doesn’t mean the effects of stress aren’t brewing below the surface. 

Do yourself a favor—address the stress!

If you have trouble confronting others and relieving your pent up stress, you’re only hurting yourself.  Allowing stress to build up inside you will eventually have a very negative effect on your emotions and physical health.  You could fall victim to high blood pressure, depression or your stress could manifest itself in the form of sleeping or eating disorders.

While some people enjoy confrontation, most “normal” people don’t.  Finding the balance between avoiding potentially stressful confrontations at all cost and looking for confrontation opportunities doesn’t have to be difficult.  It’s very important to learn to deal with stressful situations in a healthy way– even if it involves telling someone close to you that you’ve been hurt or angered by their actions. 

Finding your “voice” may feel awkward at first—but that’s normal.  It’s a good idea to practice letting your voice be heard in simple, non-threatening scenarios.  Perhaps it could be as simple as suggesting to a friend that you see a different movie than the one she suggested.  Practicing the use of your “voice” in these types of daily situations will make it easier to confront the important issues in a healthy and balanced way.

As you become more comfortable expressing your preferences and concerns, it will become second nature to you.  Eventually, you’ll find there’s no need to stifle your “voice” and the effects of stress will gradually diminish.

Your closest and most important relationships will begin to change for the better because as you gain experience in expressing your opinions, you’ll feel more confident expressing your thoughts with regard to things that matter to you–and your family and friends will come to accept it as normal.

Learning the art of healthy confrontation is no guarantee that the effects of stress will never be a problem again.  However, honing the skill of healthy confrontation may prove to be an effective outlet that will help you air your grievances appropriately, while at the same time relieving lots of inner turmoil and anxiety.