Sharon Melnick Success Under Stress

The book I chose was Success Under Stress by Sharon Melnick, Ph. D. I chose this book because I feel that no matter what I am doing, I am stressed. This book can help me with everyday life and because stress does rule a lot of people’s lives, and I, for one, would like to get it under control.
As I was reading this book, I came to realize that I live every minute of every day under stress. While reading, I felt pressed for time and was thinking that I was not going to get all my homework done along with reading a book that I was going to have to write a paper on. Then I realized that I was enjoying the book. As I was reading I found myself, “Oh no, this is me,” again and again. I felt like this book was what I needed at this point in my
life.
The book taught me that no matter what is going on in life, you are the one that can control the way you think. I always thought that everyone else could control the way I was thinking. When you are raised in a stressful home, having to go from one house to the other and not knowing from day to day what you were going to have to do, you can’t help but think that everyone else controls you. I was wrong, and I am glad that I can make that change now. Even though I am now twenty-nine years of age and have a family of my own, I am the one that can control myself.
Now that I have read this book, when I am feeling stressed I can take a step back and breathe ten times. Success Under Stress explained why that helps. For example, just last week my son had an ear surgery and was out of school for two days. My mother was coming to watch him the day after surgery, but something came up and she was not able to do that for us. I started to panic. I was thinking that I couldn’t miss work, and everyone that I know is working and can’t take off work. As I lay in bed trying not to stress and breathe, I thought back to my book. The book told me that I am the only one that can control what is going on. I pulled my book out and went to chapter six, and I began to write down everything that was going through my head and weigh out my pros and cons. As I sat down writing everything out, and doing my deep breathing, I felt such relief. For me that is difficult, but I have overcome it. I now know that when I get stressed, I can think clearly and know how I am going to handle the situation.
I have a big fear that something is going to happen to my son.
During the same week, I got a call from his school saying that he had fallen off the monkey bars and was complaining that his arm hurting. Normally I would be running around crying and screaming, but this time, I got off the phone, hit my knees, and said, “I can’t control what just happened; I just have to be a strong mother.” Instantly, I felt all the stress fade away, and I could be a strong mother. When I arrived at his school, he was crying and holding his arm. I knew it was bad and I wanted to stress and panic, but I didn’t. I had to make the best of the situation for him and if he had seen me panic and stressed, it would have been worse on him. In chapter ten the book explains that if you show stress, then everyone can see it. For me this was a big accomplishment, and I’m so glad that I could read this book and take away the lessons the author provided.
Success Under Stress has been an eye-opener for me. I am so excited to continue working on myself and learning from this book. This book has taught me to be a better person for my family and myself. In conclusion, if you or anyone that you know deals with stress daily there is hope and always remember, “You are the one that controls
you.”