I recently finished the book Burnout The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle. It was a fascinating book that offered real solutions to reduce stress.
We are never going to completely eliminate all the stress from our lives.
We may try many different ways to escape our stress but escaping our stress is not the healthiest way to live.
There are two types of external stress and internal stress.
External stress is anything you see, hear, touch, taste or imagine that could harm you. Examples including the following:
Work
Family
Money
Change in social norms
Time
Expectations.
Internal stress
is the blabbermouth self-critic that lives in all of our heads
that we talked about last week( If you missed it, you could check it out here
https://www.roannarhodes.com/post/4-steps-to-developing-self-compassion)
This internal critic attacks us through things like our
body image our
identity our
memories and
fear about our future.
In different ways and to different degrees, all of these things may be interpreted by your body as potential threats. When our bodies perceive a threat, our cortisol hormone increases and remains elevated until the stress cycle has completed itself. The problem is that many of us do not know how to complete the process, leaving our cortisol levels elevated, thus causing a breakdown in our emotional and physical well-being.
Here are a few things to try when you are feeling stressed.
Breathe: Take deep slow breaths to try to downregulate the stress response. Breathe in with a slow count of five, hold your breath for five, then release for a slow count of ten. Repeat three more times.
Positive Social Interactions: Do something nice for someone. Give a compliment to a co-worker. Say “thank you” at the drive-through. Have a chat with a friend. Reassure your brain. there are still good people in the world the world is a safe place, and not everybody is a lunatic.
Laughter: Laughter is good medicine. It increases social connection and regulates emotions. But it has to be the kind of laughter and that makes your sides hurt and, your eyes cry, the type that is out of control. So, find those girlfriends that have a good sense of humor and make it a priority to hang out with them.
Affection: If your gal pals are not around and polite banter is not working, then a hug from someone you trust, love, and respect will help.
A warm 20-second hug is the stress release equivalent of
a couple of mile jog.
Another way to finish the stress cycle is with a six-second kiss which is what
relationship expert John Gottman suggests. It needs to be six seconds because that is too long to kiss someone you are upset with and far too long to kiss someone you do not feel safe with. This long kiss signals to your body that you are safe with your tribe.
How do you know if you have completed the stress cycle?
It is like knowing when you have had enough to eat. You could experience a shift in mood or in your mental or physical state. You will be able to breathe more deeply, and your thoughts will relax.
If you would like more help managing your stress and new ideas to help with your external or internal stressors, why not take me up on my offer for a free 20-minute session? In that session, you will see firsthand the benefits of coaching. It completely changed my life, and I know it will change yours, too. Click the link below to schedule.
https://calendly.com/roannarhodeslifecoach/20-minute-session
See you next week!
Roanna