Week 8 Blog

     This week we talked about the family being under stress. It was actually very interesting. We learned about what can cause stress and how stress in a family can sometimes actually be a good thing. This wasn't individual stress we were talking about either, it was family stress. Have you ever felt stress in your family? Maybe on a small level when your parents were getting mad at a sibling and you can feel the stress and intensity? Or maybe on a higher level if a parent lost a job? Well let's talk about these things. 

    First I want to talk about what can cause stress. There are lots of things that can cause stress, some worse than others. Spouse has a drinking problem, or other addiction? Spouse is struggling holding and job and providing for the family? I have seen a friend go through this experience. I knew two kids in the family, they had both parents but the parents struggled, eventually the husband ended up taking his own life..then just a little while later the stress and sadness was too much and the mom took her life as well. Imagine the stress that came to the family when the Dad was lost, but imagine how much more stress on the kids and rest of the family when the mom was lost as well! Within just a few months of each other. I felt terrible for the family, and have no idea what it was like for them going through that. We all have struggles, but I have been so blessed in my family never having to go through something like that. It's a good thing too because I don't know if I would have been as strong as those kids and been able to take on the stress from an experience like that. 

    Now like I mentioned we also talked about how stress can be a good thing. We talked about in space the injuries people can receive are muscle deterioration and bone deterioration. This happens because there is no stress on the muscles in space. Stress can help us and make us stronger because we learn how to cope with it. One of the students in my class put it this way "Stress is sort of an opportunity to communicate your feelings with someone or listen to someone so that both people are able to work together and show a vulnerable side from one another." A couple of weeks ago we discussed how contention and infidelity can sometimes help a marriage be stronger. I think it is the same with stress. When you have stress you discuss it with one another and learn how to cope with it together which makes your relationship as a family stronger.

    A specific situation we talked about that can cause stress is when a father works far from home, maybe he commutes or maybe he is in the army. An important factor that can help with stress is having a resource for when he is away. Maybe another family member that is a family figure, or maybe a friends family that can help out with the kids. As a family it is important to come up with a coping mechanism, or something you can do as a family to help you get through the stress and challenges of life. One thing I do know is that Heavenly Father has a plan for us and even when it may seem like He is not there, or it may seem that He is not watching over or mindful of us, I know that He is always there and He is giving us the experiences we have for a reason, even if they are very difficult and stressful.