Learn how to manage stress to optimize your health, both physically and mentally.
There’s a lot we’ve learned over the past couple of years filled with stress and worry. I saw the need to manage stress taking a bigger role in the conversations with my clients. Figuring out how to feel calm and safe in our bodies is a huge priority to me.
What are some of the symptoms of stress?
-fatigue
-brain fog
-constipation/diarrhea
-hives
-hair loss
-headache
-muscle pain
All these symptoms are your body’s way of protecting you…it just doesn’t work for modern-day living. We go into fight-or-flight mode, and it impacts everything from our digestive system to our immune response.
Dealing with your daily stress is the only way to help optimize your health. You can eat the BEST diet, take ALL the supplements, but if you don’t deal with your stress daily, you’ll never feel completely energized. (and we are not going for the wired, caffeine energy here)
READ MY TOP 5 SUPPLEMENTS FOR IMMUNE SUPPORT
How to Break the Stress Cycle
As a mother, there’s no shortage of stressful situations the past couple of years with remote school and missed events. But even now, there is the daily stress of getting out the door on time and running from event to event that has the potential to wear me down.
In book club last year we read Burnout, by Amelia and Emily Nagoski, and it helped me better understand how to reset the stress cycle. The short version is, we need to close the loop. Basically, if we encounter a stressful situation in our day, if we never process it physically it gets “stuck.” Our goal is to give the stress (the hormone cortisol) a chance to exit the body.
How do we do that? We can do something that makes us feel good from this list:
-exercise/movement
-breathwork
-shaking
-singing/yelling (go find @the.schoolofmom and the #momscreen)
-meditation (see below)
READ MY 10 TIPS FOR BETTER SLEEP
The goal is to do something physical to close the loop on your stress. It may feel like a constant battle some days, so learn some simple breathing exercises to help bring your heart rate down. As a Holistic Patient Advocate, I’m always working with my clients to help them figure out what the right method is for them to feel like themselves again.
Meditation to Manage Stress
There is no shortage of different options for meditation. You can try transcendental meditation, kundalini, and Vipassana. There is no one “right” meditation for you, so I encourage you to try a mix of options.
I took the Ziva Meditation program at the beginning of the pandemic. I know it helped me stay productive and calm in those early months of being home together. There’s a free class next week Emily Fletcher is offering…3 Ways to Stop Making Your Life Harder Than It Needs to Be. Emily’s energy is magic so I’ll be joining the Wed workshop. (there’s also one on Tues evening)
Click here to sign up for one of the workshops, or catch the replay.
Stress is only as harmful as we let. Be open to finding a way to process it, work through it, and manage its effect on your body’s health.
