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There Are Times When The Tiniest Things Create Stress For Me. Is This Normal?

Question: There are times when the tiniest things create stress for me. Is this normal?

Kim Lebowitz, Ph.D., Northwestern Memorial Hospital

Answer: Not only are there major stressful events in our lives, but more often than not we're confronted with smaller things which we call daily hassles.

Daily hassles can be anything from minor irritations, frustrations, negative unexpected smaller events. And we encounter these multiple times throughout the day, whether you're stuck in traffic, whether you're sitting in the waiting room for longer than you want.

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These daily hassles can have the same impact on our body as major life stressors which basically means that they set off our body's physiological response to stress and they can activate our cardiovascular system, they can have effects on our digestive system, on our musculoskeletal system our immune system, and so forth.

So we want to make sure that we have the flexibility in our patience to deal with our daily hassles without getting frustrated.

Next: How Do I Know If I Am 'Too Stressed' During Major Negative Life Events?

Previous: What Is The Relationship Between Work And Stress?

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