Shakirah Dawud

Imagine an air-filled balloon. If you were to stick it with a pin, it would pop, right? But if you were to stick a length of adhesive tape flat on the balloon’s surface, and then carefully push the pin straight through the tape and balloon, it won’t pop. The balloon should hold up under many pins, as long as they are spaced widely apart along the length of the tape. Clustering the needles together on the tape gives the air inside an opportunity to take advantage of the over- stressed area and pop the balloon.

Now imagine you are the balloon filled with air. Imagine the air in the balloon as all your current, everyday stress. The needle can symbolize any sudden or accumulated additional stress. If you were to be “pricked”, how would you react?

Stress is not a negative effect on the body. It is a reaction to a stressor. A stressor can be anything from the choice of what to wear in the morning to the death of a loved one.

Stress makes some people anxious and others fatigued. Some are never hungry while others are insatiable. Some have excess energy, while others feel drained. But everyone experiences the three stages of reaction that occur at the introduction of a stressor.

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