Stress in the Family

A common misconception held by many is that stress is harmful to the family unit. Contrarily, I believe stress can be a great way for family members to come together and strengthen their bonds.

President Uchtdorf, the second counselor in the First Presidency, taught:

"When stress levels rise, when distress appears, when tragedy strikes, too often we attempt to keep up the same frantic pace or even accelerate, thinking somehow that the more rushed our pace, the better off we will be." (Of Things That Matter Most)

In this life, everyone will be faced with trials (misuse of others' agency), troubles (misuse of our agency), and tribulations (hardships that come with mortality). However, it's not what we face that matters most but rather what we do with these hardships. We can either let them make us or break us. Likewise, we can let such hardships destroy our families or cause them to grow stronger. The latter takes a lot of time and conscious effort, which means we may have to slow our lives down rather than "attempt to keep up the same frantic pace or even accelerate" because that would only cause stress levels to rise.

Although hardshhips can cause us pain, we can choose whether we suffer during those times. In fact, studies show that those who are able to face hardships with strength and positive attitudes are able to learn and grow from such experiences instead of becoming a victim (Laurer and Laurer 1988; McCubbin and McCubbin 1988; Conger and Conger 2002; Urcuyo et al. 2005).

Using stressors to our advantage can truly help us to learn and grow as well as for our families to learn and grow closer together.