Periodic stress is a fact of modern life.
That said we can sometimes forget that stress is natural. It is a psychological and physiological reaction to expected and/or unexpected events.
But unchecked, stress can lead to mental, emotional, and physical exhaustion.
In posts this month, I am going to look at:
💥What stress is.
💥Check out the Science behind it.
💥Give examples of how it shows up.
💥Offer tips and techniques that may help you to deal with your own stress.
So, let us dive in.
What is stress?
Even though stress is something that we experience every day it is a deceptively complex phenomenon. It is a psychophysical process, meaning that it shows up as both mental and physical.
In brief.
Mental stress is characterised by feelings of negative emotions often triggered when we perceive something stressful. This could be an event, an individual an object, or a personal thought around something.
The thing to note here is that your inner beliefs and expectations are highly influential in the stress that you experience. What you perceive to be stressful might be unremarkable to someone else.
It gets as individual as that.
Something to consider when we get stressed or others around us are stressed.
Physical stress is something that we feel in our bodies. It begins in our brain and, like a waterfall, cascades throughout the body, increasing heart rate, mobilising energy reserves, and putting the body into a state of threat readiness.
It is imperative when we look at how stress affects us, or if you are working with a specialist that there is an understanding of how the two types of stress interact and how it pre-dominantly show-up for you.
So where to start when dealing with Stress?
Here are two tips to try this week.
💡Stress Buster #1
Eat, Drink, and Rest
The absolute best thing that you can do for yourself is to eat, drink and rest – to your health.
Stress can easily be brought on by not eating and drinking properly. And, when you do not get the number of hours of sleep that you need each night you are only setting yourself up for more stress.
Limit the amount of salt, sugar, caffeine, and alcohol in your diet. Drink clean, pure water every day and try 30 minutes of moderate exercise. A walk around the block or car park at lunch. This will breathe new life into your skin, hair and will nourish all your vital organs.
💡Stress Buster #2
Breathe
Take time to breathe properly! Take deep belly breaths to send pure oxygen to all your body. Laugh and then laugh some more. It is food for the soul.
Spend time doing the things that please you the most.
When we are content and living balanced life everyday stresses seem to pale. We are better equipped to deal with the unexpected.
You can take control today.
If you would like to explore how Coaching can help you identify and deal with your stress, then please get in touch and let’s get you back in control, today.
