Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs A man has shared the results of a two-year experiment with his girlfriend where they tracked their stress triggers.Jimi, who didn’t give a surname, is a 36-year-old from the U.K. and lives with his girlfriend Aurelie. The pair have been tracking stress triggers for two years with the help of an app that Jimi founded called Bearable.Designed for symptom and mood tracking, they took the data recorded in the app and created a visualization of their stressors, resulting in an interesting graphic.”I find it helpful for long-term perspective, which we (humans) tend to be bad at,” Jimi told Newsweek. “It also has an unburdening CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) element, similar to naming your emotions. For me, it acts as a good journaling prompt, allowing me to reflect on how the stress made me feel and how I resolved it.”As the pair continued to track their stressors over the two-year period, the top culprits switched, but the usual elements remained throughout. Stress about work, housing and family were all often at the top of the list.
Pictures of the tracked stress triggers of Jimi and his girlfriend.
Pictures of the tracked stress triggers of Jimi and his girlfriend.
Jimi
Looking back at the data gave Jimi the chance to assess things personally.”It gave me clarity over which areas of my life were causing the most stress. I became more mindful instead of slipping into autopilot, and it helped me think about what I could do to alleviate those stressors,” he said.The exercise also brought an unexpected benefit: improved communication between the couple.”We’ve been more open about when we’re stressing each other out, how it makes us feel, and how to make changes,” Jimi explained.Dr. Robyne Hanley-Dafoe, a psychology instructor and expert in resilience and stress management, affirmed the value of this approach. She emphasized that building awareness around stressors is a crucial first step in managing them.”Awareness around our stressors and stress patterns can give us some pretty good data to be able to work with them in a well way,” she told Newsweek.She emphasized that recognizing stress behaviors and distinguishing between helpful and harmful coping strategies is critical.”We will find that some coping strategies are adaptive and helpful for providing some relief, while others are maladaptive and potentially perpetuate stress,” she said.By addressing these behaviors, individuals can better manage their emotional responses and create positive change for the future.Hanley-Dafoe also underscored the inevitability of stress, and how the goal cannot be to eliminate it altogether. Instead, she advocated a shift in perspective.”Our stress system is our first line of defense. It is trying to keep us safe,” she said. “Recognizing what is within our control and what is outside of our control allows us to work with our stressors and find practices that support us in feeling truly well.”Being able to visualize the stress data has been incredibly valuable for Jimi and his partner. He explained: “Looking back at all this data, it’s not just about seeing what stressed us out, but understanding how we’ve grown from it. It’s helped us focus on solutions and become closer as a couple. For me, it’s not just about managing stress but learning how to live better with it.”
