Stress

Conversation Starters

Dr. Cloud told a caller who felt like she was drowning: "You're not an ER doctor." She was treating every interruption, every email, every employee question like a medical emergency — and then wondering why she felt like she was living in one. What in your life feels like an emergency right now that actually isn't — and what would change if you stopped treating it like one?

Some estimates suggest that 80-90% of all illnesses have a stress component. Dr. Cloud's own father almost died of stress-related illness at 40 — then he started leaving work at 5:30, telling God "everything here until morning is your problem," having coffee with friends, and playing golf. He lived to 94. What would it look like for you to stop carrying what isn't yours to carry tonight?

Dr. Cloud identifies five sources of the stress that breaks you: isolation, loss of control, perfectionism, domination, and lack of skills. If you're honest, which of those is doing the most damage in your life right now — and how long have you been calling it "just a busy season"?