We talk endlessly about stress, but do we take real actions to diminish it in our lives? Stress as defined by Merriam-Webster is below.
The burden on one’s emotional or mental well-being created by demands on one’s time.
I would add to that definition the burden on “one’s physical well-being” as well. Each and every one of us respond to pressure differently. Person A will binge eat to combat stress, Person B will get neck or back pain when dealing with tense situations, Person C might explode unintentionally to someone they love like a pressure-release valve, Individual D might develop chronic insomnia from a stressful event.
I can keep going with examples till tomorrow, but you get the picture. From a health coaching perspective supporting people in finding their own path in stress reduction is what I call, learning to turn down the noise.
“You have power over your mind~~not outside events. Realize this, and you will have strength.”
Marcus Aurelius
While we might not always have the power to eliminate all our stress, we can get creative in our efforts to lessen the load. Here’s a few ideas.
- Have a physical “go to” when issues arise. Take a hike, work in your garden, clean out a room, do an intense weightlifting or exercise program. Anything to move your body vigorously.
- Practice being quiet on a regularly basis. Having a quiet spot to go to and being comfortable with stillness before stress arrives gives you more resilience when it comes knocking on your door.
- Take a cold shower. Something to completely change your perspective away from stress can be cold water. Anecdotally many individuals say cold showers or ice baths assist in fat burning, worth a try.
- Take a musical pause, listen to something you love, if you play an instrument dive in, whatever works for you but allow the music to guide you to a different place.
- Step away from social media, constant negative news outlets and other forms of noise that can increase your current level of stress. While they might seem like a distraction most often it does the exact opposite. Especially important late in the evening prior to sleep.
Food For Thought
Any steps you can take today to reduce foods that create inflammation and “stress” on your body is a positive move to reduce cortisol and less overall stress. Carbohydrates and sugar are often easily consumed when dealing with pressure and tension. Unfortunately, both sugar and carbohydrates raise blood sugar and insulin thus increasing blood pressure, all of which contribute to higher stress levels.
By developing strong habits of eating regular meals with real foods that don’t play havoc with your blood sugar and insulin you’re creating a vessel better equipped to handle stress. For more on how to improve your metabolic health see post here.
If you think about nutrition as food for performance and not punishment or reward the path to less stress is broader and more attainable.
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