Christian therapist Jim Otremba shared 3 steps for stress relief in dealing with day to day challenges.
Good and Bad Stress
We all encounter stress on a daily basis and learn to cope with it in various ways. There’s a good stress wherein you face a challenge that will ultimately benefit you. There is also bad stress that can be overwhelming.
On Diana Kokku’s YouTube channel, Christian therapist Jim Otremba shares three practical steps in handling stress: Naming, Reframing, and Taming.
About Jim Otremba: Jim brings to the practice of counseling a background in ministry, including adult faith formation and working with youth. He is a Licensed Independent Clinical social worker who holds a Master of Divinity degree from St. John’s University and a Master of Science in Applied Psychology from St. Cloud State University.
3 Steps For Stress Relief No. 1 “Naming”
Step number one is naming. Jim Otremba used Genesis 1 as a reference, and said that God is about naming things. “God told Adam in the garden, Chapter 1 of Genesis, to name the animals around him. According to some scripture scholars, they talked about during biblical times, if you had a name of somebody you had power over that person.”
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The very first step is to name the stressors. This is a brain dump activity wherein you write all your stress down on a piece of paper. Every single one of it, even the things you find trivial.
3 Steps For Stress Relief No. 2 “Reframing”
“We’re going to reframe with the truth because in the gospel of John ,it was written “The truth is what sets us free,” Jim Otremba said. “Negative stress, our wounds, our hurts, our past hurts, Satan, they don’t want us to focus on the truth. They want us to focus on lies or half truths.”
So, grab your piece of paper and go through each stress that you just wrote down. And then, cross off all the stress that you have no direct control over.
And while you’re crossing some of the things you’ve listed, pray this prayer: “Holy Spirit, give me the grace to release this stress to You so I can focus on the stress that I have partial and direct control over. Amen.”
3 Steps For Stress Relief No. 3 “Taming”
The third and last step is taming. Here, you just need to circle the ones on your list that you have partial control over. Then, pray this: “Holy Spirit, give me Your wisdom so I may know how You want me to best manage this category of stress that I have partial control over. Amen.”
Then, identify which ones you have direct control over and pray this: “Holy Spirit, give me Your fruit of self-control as I best manage this category of stress that I have direct control over. Amen.”
Those are the steps that Christian therapist Jim Otremba shared and many people benefited from it. Especially when the enemy, or your past hurts, or other insecurities in your life will try to bring you down by stressing you.
Watch the full video:
Reference: Diana Kokku
Header image: Photo by Gift Habeshaw on Unsplash