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What is stress and what can you do to help manage it?
Stress is a process in the body that happens in response to a stressor and has been designed that way for you to deal with a threat, change or extreme circumstance. You can experience stress as an isolated event or happening, but you can also experience it in a chronic and long term way.
Let's start with an isolated stressful event. Say you were outdoors, sitting by a beautiful lake with the forest behind you and you were about to enjoy a prepared homemade picnic. You take your first bite and out pops a bear that starts coming towards you... guess what., well immediately your body knows that this is a threat (stressor) and it activates your nervous system and more specifically your "fight or flight" nervous system. This is also known as your "sympathetic" nervous system and this system takes the necessary physiological actions for you to survive this threat. As a human being you are innately equipped with this "fight or flight" response which allows for you to then fight the bear (I don't recommend this option) or flee from the bear (probably better).
Once the threat is over and you are in a place of safety your body then comes back down to its normal state. This is an isolated event, it was unexpected and you ideally wouldn't go through this again. You can however go through the same "stress" response again when a new isolated threat situation occurs. You are designed to deal with these circumstances in life, but stress on a regular basis is not good for your overall health and well-being.
Chronic long term stress is different in that it is experienced in a constant and regular way. This type of stress does not give you enough time or any at all in your "rest and digest" nervous system, known as your "parasympathetic" nervous system.
It is important to understand that in order for rejuvenation, restoration, healing, proper digestion and the experience of true vitality to happen you need to spend adequate time in this rest and digest state. Chronic stress can affect your sleep, muscle tension and or pain levels, blood pressure, digestion and immune system to name a few. It is so incredibly important to be aware of your stressors and either change your exposure to them and if that's not possible then another thing you can try is to change your reaction to them.
Being mindful about your stress is only one part of the equation because it is as equally important to incorporate a variety of relaxation experiences for your body. These relaxation experiences encourage rejuvenation, restoration, peace, rest and a sense of calm which then in turn promotes optimal wellness. Some wonderful ways to help your body relax and restore are;
-healing yoga
-meditation
-essential oils
-deep breathing
-spending time in nature (without a bear present obviously)
-herbal teas
-warm baths
-massage therapy
-energy healing
-sound healing
I encourage you to take time every day to check in with your stress, where and how you feel it in your body and mind and then choose a relaxation technique/modality that you want to work with for optimal balance, health & wellness.
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