Stress is all Greek Mythology to me... (don't be like Atlas)

When I was young I was obsessed with Greek mythology, the Gods and the monsters fueling my imagination in every way possible. I still remember being captivated by Jason and the Argonauts plowing the field with fire-breathing oxen, and sowing dragons-teeth that caused a stone army to appear… Exciting stuff.


Now I sometimes find myself referring to these stories in my life. Well, not so much Jason and the Argonauts because my life isn’t quite that exciting, but more like Sisyphus, who is forced to roll that stone up the hill only to have it rolling back down again (sounds familiar?), and of course, Atlas.
Who is Atlas you ask?
And do you care?
Well, if you care about understanding stress (and even if you don’t), I think you should care about Atlas, even just a little.
Atlas was a Titan, a God, who led the Titans in a rebellion against Zeus. That obviously didn’t end well (short version), and he was condemned to bear the heavens on his shoulders. That is quite a load.
Another version is that he carries the world on his shoulders. Which in turn is where the phrase, ‘carrying the world on your shoulders’ comes from.

Maybe it doesn’t look like Greek Mythology and modern day stress have a lot in common at first glance, but if you look closer; you will be reminded that myths were used a lot for educational purposes. And with the phrase ‘carrying the world on his shoulders’ you get an inkling about what Greek Mythology and stress has to do with each other. Also, this is what we look like when we’re under stress. Hunched shoulders, bent over, our head forced down…

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