Are you surviving or thriving?
Our modern day lifestyle’s mean we are often operating in a stressed state. A little bit of stress is good for us, it gets us up in the morning and puts us in a heightened state when we need it. Imagine that moment just before you need to deliver a presentation, although your stomach might be full of butterflies you somehow find the energy and capability to deliver and smash the presentation. But when we remain in this stressed state for too long we no longer thrive.
When we are stressed we are operating in our sympathetic nervous system, this releases adrenaline and cortisol. Signals are sent to our body to change our functioning, increase heart rate and push blood and oxygen to our muscles and switches off digestion. This is often known as our fight or flight response. This is exactly the physiological response you would want if you are running away from a tiger but when this response is applied to the daily stresses of our modern day lives, like too many emails, somebody cutting you up on the road this can cause us problems as we start to operate in our stressed state for too long, which have not evolved to deal with.
Staying in our stressed state for long periods of time can have a negative impact on our bodies such as:
- Anxiety
- Inflammation
- Increased risk of diseases
- Brain Fog
- Hormone imbalances
I recently did my mental health first aid training, during the session they look at stress and how this impacts our mental health and they got us to work through these questions:
- Identify what your stressors are, what are the things that are currently causing you to feel stressed?
- Once you have identified your stressors, ask yourself do you have any evidence to support these thoughts/aspects that are causing you stress?
- What can you change and what can’t you change and need to accept?
- What allows you to switch off and relax?
What can we do to help us stay in a thrive state? Prioritise Self Care and Relaxation. Putting in some time to switch off and relax is not a luxury or nice to do, it is essential. Remember you cannot pour from an empty cup.
What does self care mean to me?
- A good bedtime routine. Having an Epsom salt bath before bed allows me to switch off and get a good quality nights sleep. Try to stop looking at phones and other technology at least 30 minutes before bed.
- 10 minutes of meditation, ideally in the morning but if i don’t have time I will do it in the evening
- A monthly treatment, I have started having accupuncture and find this really helps with my anxiety
- Exercise. What activity I do changes dependent on how I feel. The most important thing is to listen to your body, if your stressed and lacking energy consider a restorative practice such as yoga.
- Making time to cook food that nourishes my body. Food is the fuel for your body.
Currently my favourite book on stress and the importance of self care is The Stress Solution by Dr Chatterjee. Lots of evidenced based facts and practical tips to get you operating in a thrive state.
This your permission to go and prioritise your self care and relaxation.
Sarah x