Stress and the ugly mark it leaves

How many times do you ask someone how they are doing and they tell you about everything and just hearing it sounds stressful. Have you been that person? It can feel like you are drowning and everything hurts. We live in a society where everywhere we turn there is some bad news or something scary that could happen to the economy. There is death and devastation all over and it can be enough to send anyone into a spiral of cortisol inducing panic. Well since we cannot get rid of a lot of this, let's talk about how we can manage it and find some good release techniques that will help along the way. 

When we are stressed, we basically put ourselves into fight or flight. It can now be extended into fight, flight, flee or fawn. So whichever one you are you will have the same automatic response in the body which is really meant to save your life in imminent threat. Think of being chased by a wild animal. This is the most common analogy because its true survival needed. Your body will do things like dilate your eyes so you can see better, it will start to sweat so your body can be slippery and hard to catch, and all your blood will rush away from your gut and digestive system so you can run away and pump your heart. Typically you will not have to use the bathroom at all during this because it's not a priority when you are trying to live. Hint hint: long time stress can cause GI issues. Those are just some of the ways your body will prepare. Now when your body thinks it's in danger such as being chased but it's actually not... this can start to weigh on your body and especially your organs. Long term stress can really cause problems and can be very frustrating to diagnose because stress is hard to measure in the body. 

Now that you see the physical signs, the emotional signs can vary from being extremely loud and like an additional voice in your head or they can be subtle and hard to recognize. Each person is different with what they are going through and how they react to the stress that comes into their lives. If you've ever lost a close family member you probably have recognized that everyone grieves differently and how you might process could be completely different than even your closest family members. That is how stress is and how we respond to what's going on in our lives. Some people may express their hardship through words, others actions. Once you've identified what is stressing you in life, you can do a self assessment to find out how it is affecting your life and then move into what you can do to improve this. 

External stress is what the outside world is doing that affects you in a not so great way. Internal stress is created by the thoughts you have. An example of external would be a crime that occurred in your neighborhood and an example of internal would be the feeling of pressure by your job to match the expectation placed. How you react to both of these is something you can control. Even though the crime and the job are not things you can change yourself directly, you an change how you react. When you go through the process of identifying the external and internal stressors in your life, you can then identify how they are affecting you physically or mentally and from there you can find solutions. 

Solutions to lowering your reaction to these stressors to improve your wellbeing come in so many ways. Finding the best fit for each stressor is your main goal in this entire message today. Are you open to trying new things? Are you open to trying something that might not have worked for you in the past? Do you have some hard NO's to a few methods out there? Think on these questions as you read through my list of some options you can give a try to see how they can work for you. 

• Meditation
• Breath work
• Affirmations
• Visualization
• Law of Attraction
• Boundary work
• Journaling
• Therapy
• Self Talk
• Goal Setting
• Yoga or exercise
• Community
• New opportunities
• Breaking from media
• Nutrition improvement
• Education
• Self Care
• Music
• Fine arts
• Self Defense
• CBT
• EMDR
• Neurofeedback
• Exposure Therapy
• Art Therapy
• Talk Therapy
• Psychotherapy
• Alternative Therapies
• Group Therapy
• Animal Therapy
• Legal v Illegal methods

Feel free to do your own research on these methods. Some are better for internal and some better for external. Some are conducted by professionals and would require seeing out a therapist who can give you what you need. When you are going through your self assessment, it's important to identify if you are in need of a professional intervention. Talk to your doctor if you are concerned for your wellbeing and want to explore options. Do not try anything that makes you feel uncomfortable and make sure you are documenting how it is affecting you. Some things will require more than just one attempt to see change. Find that accountability partner and talk to someone about what you are doing to ensure you are doing it correctly. 

If you are in a place where you want to talk to someone and don't know where to turn, please know that by booking a consult with me, you are safe and will be seen and valued. I am here to help and send you on a path of feeling better. You can book on HealthySadie.com