ABC’s of Stress

Managing your stress is as easy as ABC. 

Well…maybe not that easy, it takes practice and persistence, but a strong understanding of the ABCs of stress is a great place to start! 

Psychologist Albert Ellis proposed the concept of the ABCs of stress.  

A = Activating event/stressor

B = Beliefs/Perceptions 

C = Emotional Consequence 

When it comes to stress, it can follow an easy formula:  A + B = C

The stressful event combined with your belief about that event leads to your emotional reaction.  

You can think of traffic as an example. 

A = You’re sitting in traffic. 

B = You HATE traffic! 

C = This is terrible and You. Are. Stressed. 

Now, If you can change your A – GREAT! But in a lot of stressful situations, that’s not always possible.

And you definitely want your C, your emotional response, to change….well, there’s only variable left!

You always have control over your B, your beliefs, and perceptions.

Through building your resilience to stress and implementing some perspective practices your situation is now: 

A = You’re sitting in traffic. 

B = Now you have time to listen to your favorite podcast! 

C = This traffic isn’t so bad. 

Learning to manage your stress starts with learning to shift your beliefs and perceptions about the stressful events around you. Fortunately, I’ve got lots of tips and tricks to help you shift your perspective and train your brain to respond to the stressors around you in a more optimal way.