Understanding Stress

Stress Is a Normal Part of Life

As you begin any new experience (like joining the Church or attending a new school), you feel excited about the opportunity—and nervous because you don’t know quite what to expect. Over time you learn to meet these challenges, and you grow in the process.

Missions are no different. Sometimes a mission feels like a wonderful spiritual adventure—or at least a challenge you can handle. You calmly move forward with faith, realizing that much of the nervousness or worry you experience is temporary. You take courage in knowing you will adjust with time, grow spiritually, and develop many new skills. Experiences you once feared become more manageable. You even come to cherish aspects of missionary life that once felt overwhelming. You rely on the Spirit, grow in confidence, and find joy in your service.

At other times, however, you may face unexpected problems or experiences that are more difficult or unpleasant than you anticipated. You might wonder how you can succeed. Resources you once relied on to help you cope may not be available. Instead of feeling motivated to try, you might become anxious, irritable, exhausted, or frustrated. You might have physical symptoms like pain, upset stomach, sleeplessness, or illness. You could have trouble learning or connecting with people. You might feel discouraged or want to quit.

Like gauges on a car’s dashboard that remind you to slow down, get gas, or check the engine, these symptoms are signals to remind you to slow down, fill up your spiritual “tank,” and look for new solutions. This booklet has suggestions and tools that may help.

Four Levels of Stress

Stress is not always bad. In fact, stress is a normal physical and emotional response to the changes and challenges of life and is necessary for growth. But experiencing too much stress for too long without a break can lead to problems.

As you work to manage your stress effectively, it may help to think of four levels of experiencing stress.

	Signs You Are at This Level	What to Do
GREEN	Confident, happy Ready to meet challenges Recover quickly from setbacks Getting along with your companion Feel the Spirit	This is the ideal. Here you are handling the everyday stressors of missionary work, learning, and progressing. Continue to work hard and trust in the Lord.
YELLOW	Tense, worried, insecure, anxious, unprepared Trouble getting along with others Difficulty feeling the Spirit	It is normal to spend some time at the yellow level. Being kind to yourself as you cope with challenges and learn new skills will help you become stronger and increase your ability to serve. Continue to pray and serve in faith. Look to the scriptures and conference talks, your district and zone leaders, and this booklet for help.
ORANGE	Exhausted (physically and emotionally) Ill (e.g., upset stomach) Easily angered Deeply discouraged Inability to feel the Spirit	No one enjoys being at an orange level of stress, but this is rarely permanent. Pray for guidance as you study scriptures and apply the suggestions in this booklet. Let your mission president know if you stay at the orange level for more than three days, so he can help.
RED	Persistent depression, panic, or anxiety Hopelessness Trouble eating or sleeping (can lead to illness) Overwhelmed; inability to continue Feel as though you have been abandoned by God	If you are at this level, contact your mission president for help. Ask your companion or district leader for a priesthood blessing. Consider taking some time to write in your journal, ponder the suggestions in this book, pray, and perhaps take a break from the things you find most difficult about missionary work until you have a chance to speak with your mission president.

Demands of Missionary Work

Serving “with all your heart, might, mind and strength” (D&C 4:2) will bless you greatly. Missionary work is not easy. The demands of missionary work fall into several categories:

General (see pages 17–22). You experience many changes and transitions throughout your mission. Familiar ways of coping are not always available, and you must learn new ones. Evenings and weekends that used to be relaxing are now your busiest times. You may feel awkward. At times you may struggle. You may wonder how to help other missionaries who struggle.

Physical (see pages 23–28). You may be on your feet 11–12 hours a day, walking, biking, climbing stairs, and standing. You may not get as much sleep as you are used to. The food may be unfamiliar. You will be out in bad weather and exposed to new germs. Just the newness of the situation can be fatiguing.

Emotional (see pages 29–34). You may feel anxious about all you have to do, and you may have trouble unwinding. You may get homesick, become discouraged, get bored, or feel lonely. You may face rejection, disappointment, or even danger. You may worry about family and friends when you are not there to help them.

Social (see pages 35–39). You will live in close quarters with a companion with whom you may or may not have much in common. You are expected to talk to strangers, interact with Church leaders, get to know Church members quickly, and learn to love investigators.

Intellectual (see pages 41–43). You may be learning a new language. You will need to master lessons and scriptures, acquire teaching skills, and resolve concerns that arise. You will need to plan, manage goals, adapt to changes, and solve all kinds of practical problems.

Spiritual (see pages 45–49). You will stretch to strengthen your testimony, resist temptation, and learn to feel and recognize the Spirit. You will need to take correction, repent, face your weaknesses and regrets humbly, and rely on the Lord more than ever before.

Your Experiences Can Bless Others

As you read the following excerpt from a talk given by President Gordon B. Hinckley, think about how your experiences with stress as a missionary (new people, new language, new culture) can help you better understand the stress that many recent converts feel (new friends, new vocabulary, new culture). With this new understanding, how can you involve other members to help recent converts with the transition? Record your thoughts in your study journal.

“I received the other day a very interesting letter. It was written by a woman who joined the Church a year ago. She writes:

“‘My journey into the Church was unique and quite challenging. This past year has been the hardest year that I have ever lived in my life. It has also been the most rewarding. As a new member, I continue to be challenged every day.’

“She goes on to say that when she joined the Church she did not feel support from the leadership in her ward. Her bishop seemed indifferent to her as a new member. Rebuffed, as she felt, she turned back to her mission president, who opened opportunities for her.

“She states that ‘Church members don’t know what it is like to be a new member of the Church. Therefore, it’s almost impossible for them to know how to support us.’

“I challenge you, my brothers and sisters, that if you do not know what it is like, you try to imagine what it is like. It can be terribly lonely. It can be disappointing. It can be frightening. We of this Church are far more different from the world than we are prone to think we are. This woman goes on: ‘When we as investigators become members of the Church, we are surprised to discover that we have entered into a completely foreign world, a world that has its own traditions, culture, and language. We discover that there is no one person or no one place of reference that we can turn to for guidance in our trip into this new world. At first the trip is exciting, our mistakes even amusing, then it becomes frustrating and eventually, the frustration turns into anger. And it’s at these stages of frustration and anger that we leave. We go back to the world from which we came, where we knew who we were, where we contributed, and where we could speak the language’” (“Find the Lambs, Feed the Sheep,” Ensign, May 1999, 108, italics added; see also Preach My Gospel [2004], 214 [Activity: Personal or Companion Study]).

Resources to Help You Stay in Balance

When you have resources to meet the demands of missionary work, you grow and contribute and you stay in the green level. Sometimes you can achieve this balance by reducing unnecessary demands, such as unrealistic self-expectations or worrying about what others think. However, many of the demands of a mission cannot be reduced. You will need to learn new material, get along with other people, obey rules, teach and testify, and leave your comfort zone.

You can still stay in balance by increasing your resources to meet these demands. Some of the most important resources for meeting the demands of missionary work are prayer, scripture study, the guidance of the Holy Ghost, and serving others. Additional resources include Preach My Gospel, help from mission leaders, and many others found in this booklet.

Using these resources will enable you to rely on the Savior Jesus Christ and His Atonement. He is the ultimate source of help in dealing with the demands and stresses of missionary life.

Look unto Me

Remember, our Heavenly Father loves you. Trust in Him and in the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ to heal and redeem you. God has a perfect plan for His imperfect children; this is the good news you carry to the world. Remember these promises: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, as I said unto my disciples, where two or three are gathered together in my name, as touching one thing, behold, there will I be in the midst of them—even so am I in the midst of you.

“Fear not to do good, … for whatsoever ye sow, that shall ye also reap; therefore, if ye sow good ye shall also reap good for your reward.

“Therefore, fear not, little flock; do good; let earth and hell combine against you, for if ye are built upon my rock, they cannot prevail.

“Behold, I do not condemn you; go your ways and sin no more; perform with soberness the work which I have commanded you.

“Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not.

“Behold the wounds which pierced my side, and also the prints of the nails in my hands and feet; be faithful, keep my commandments, and ye shall inherit the kingdom of heaven” (D&C 6:32–37).