Mind
How to keep stress in check this winter
“Busy”, “tired”, “overwhelmed” and “stressed” – the most common responses I tend to hear today to the simple question, “how are you?”
As we transition into the winter months this can tend to get worse for some people.
Stress is something that affects all of us to some degree or another but left unaddressed it can feel like an express train, with little to no chance of stopping. Let's explore how we can keep stress in check and avoid a one-way ticket on the stress express.
Daily choices
While not exactly a revolutionary concept, thinking about your daily choices holds so much gold for your health and wellbeing.
When you really think about it you essentially are the decisions you make on a daily basis – moment to moment in fact. If you continue to drink three coffees each day, despite knowing that they only make you feel more stressed, hot and anxious you need to do some serious thinking about what else you do in your life you know doesn't serve you.
Do you continue to eat sugary snacks because you want the energy at 3pm, or restrict your calorie intake in the afternoon only to demolish the pantry when you return from work? Do you say yes to every additional task at work because you have a fear of saying no, despite the fact you can barely keep your head above water as is? Do you agree to babysit your grandchildren again on Saturday night - despite knowing you are actually busting to read a book and relax? Think about what you do on a daily basis and consider if this is pulling you on the stress express, or helping you off it.
You are the only person who can prioritise your own health and wellbeing. Often we consider ourselves last and this must change.
Stress and nourishment
When you live consistently in sympathetic nervous system (SNS) dominance – the fight or flight response - your energy tends to be inconsistent.
You fire up and then you crash, and the choices you make when you crash can set you up to fire up again and quite often they are nutritionally of a poor quality. They will typically involve caffeine, sugars or starches, or all three.
SNS dominance can be a reason why, even though you have good nutrition knowledge, it doesn't translate into you following through on that knowledge. Let's face it.
You don't polish off a packet of chocolate biscuits thinking you are going to feel amazing afterwards. You don't do that from a lack of knowledge. You do it for biochemical or emotional reasons, or both.
And one of the biochemical reasons can be living in an SNS dominant state. Reduce your consumption of caffeine. Consuming too much caffeine is a sure fire way to feel stressed/rushed as it results in the release of adrenalin, one of our body's stress hormones.
This is of particular importance if you feel jittery when you consume it. Swap coffee for green tea and notice if you feel calmer and more energised an hour later after a week of doing this. It is important to realise that the way we eat, drink, move, think, breathe, believe and perceive impacts our need to rush and therefore our ability to feel stressed.
Bring awareness to all of these factors in your life and consider where you need to make changes.
Calm-creating activities
When you feel like you have a one-way ticket on the stress express, it's not uncommon to be drawn to high intensity exercise in an effort to "sweat it out".
While that most definitely feels good for some people, it might not work for you. When you have been in a constant state of stress you tend to neglect or even avoid calming activities. Consider enrolling in a meditation course and committing to do so with a friend, or go to a restorative yoga class.
Incorporate a breath-focused practice in your life, whether that is mediation, yoga, tai chi, Pilates or even just 10-15 minutes every day where you focus on slow breathing, moving your tummy in and out as you breathe.
This is one of the best ways to switch off your stress response. This isn't being indulgent; it is incredibly necessary for your health. If you feel like cancelling on plans, snuggling up on the couch and reading a book, do it! Far too often we ignore our own intuition about what we need in each moment. Make a conscious effort to tune into this.
Change your thoughts and change your world
Change your perspective. What makes you feel overwhelmed? I suggest people capture their tasks and then instead of approaching it by repeating to yourself over and over again "oh my goodness, I have so much to do" ask yourself "what outcome do I want to achieve today?" and focus on that.
You will feel far less pressure and far more rewarded with this simple shift in your thinking.
Take time to be grateful for what you do have. In the rush of life many people lose the ability to see how privileged they are. A simple shift in focus to thinking about things you are grateful for makes an incredible difference to your ability to feel overwhelmed or stressed. Remember what you focus on is what you feel.
Tell us in the comments below, how do you keep stress at bay?
Written by Dr Libby Weaver. First appeared on Stuff.co.nz.
Related links:
How to tell if you're depressed or just low
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