Stress Management – How do you deal with it?
Happy Father’s Day to all of the dads, step-dads and granddads out there! I hope you have a great day doing the things you love with the people you love! 🙂
“If you want to conquer the anxiety of life, live in the moment, live in the breath.“~Amit Ray
Are you experiencing a lot of stress and anxiety these days? How do you cope with it?
This morning I listened to a Facebook Live message from our Two-Brain leader, Chris Cooper and he explained in laymen’s terms on why our bodies handle the stress the way they do…Our brains are constantly ready to either fight or flight when subjected to a situation. The more we put on our plate, the bigger that part of the brain grows…we don’t want that to happen. Why? Because the more stressful situations we encounter, the harder it is for us to process everything and the stress hormone, cortisol builds up. Believe me, this is not good!
If you’re like me, you are dealing with stress coming from all angles; family life, work life and fitness life. There are ways to combat the stress in our lives and that is to be mindful of how we are reacting to certain situations. We need to re-wire our brains to meet the daily demands that this stress causes.
Some of the ideas Chris shared were:
1. Set up 2 one-hour blocks of no-screen time; if you don’t have a set time during the day when you can do this, set up one hour when you wake up and one hour before you go to bed. I like to put my phone on “DND” (do not disturb) from 9:30pm-9am so I am not interrupted. Sometimes this works, I just have to stay off of that time sucker! 🙂
2. Set up a time where you check your emails, social media and responding to texts. If you wake up in the morning and the first thing you do is scroll through emails, your brain automatically goes into that stress mode where you think you need to do everything at once. Take some time for yourself and ease into your day.
3. Do something that is of long, slow duration. I like to go for 30-45 minute walks where I turn off my phone except for my “Calm app” listening to rhythmic music…It helps clear my head.
4. Do something for yourself that requires your full attention like reading or playing a new sport. This would then take your mind off of the stress you are experiencing.
5. Celebrate the bright spots in your day! Focus on the positivity that is going on in your life and surround yourself with like-minded people so the ripple effect continues.
Finally, always take a few deep breaths and contemplate your reaction to stressful situations. Those deep breaths could make a world of difference! I hope some of these tips help you deal with your daily stress; I plan on implementing them…I just have to stick with it and create the habit! More on good habits in another blog! Until then, have a Blessed Day!
Work Hard, Eat Clean, Be Blessed
