Stress is one of the single most detrimental things to our health. Stress reduces our bodies ability to properly heal and fight off infections.
You may have noticed in other people, or even in yourself, stress can have many varied effects. Some people may get digestive issues, others get headaches. While others have muscle aches or fatigue.
This is due to the widespread effects of stress on the body. Stress causes changes in certain hormone levels like cortisol that have wide reaching effects on the body. Getting into the hows and why’s stress does this to our body is not my goal in this article. I want to address what we can do to combat it.
Managing stress is vitally important at any time but even more so now when it feels unavoidable. Use some of these tips to help regain control of your health.
You are what you think
Having a positive mental attitude is the first key to taking control. Don’t let the constant negative attitudes and energy around us into your daily life. Start by turning off the news. Check it briefly to be aware of what is happening then get away from it. The news is dependent on us staying scared. No one is going to watch 24 hour news channels of happy stories. It is even harder to avoid now with social media but focus on the positive stories. They are still out there. Even in a crisis people are posting funny cat videos. Watch those after the news to cleanse your palate. Find and focus on the positive. It’s still OK to laugh. It really is the best medicine.
Breathe
Of course you need to breathe but there is a specific technique that reduces stress. Take time throughout the day to practice deep breathing. Sit quietly and focus on taking a deep breath filling your lungs and breathing into your belly using your diaphragm. Do this by slowly inhaling for a count of 5 then slowly exhale for a count of 5. On the inhale focus on bringing your ribs up and out then your diaphragm down into your belly.
Breathing like this stimulates the rest and relaxation portion of our autonomic nervous system. Think about how you would breathe if you were in a stress full situation. It would be quick, short shallow breaths. We want to focus on consciously doing the opposite for a few minutes and at different times during the day. Also just focusing on our breathing is one of the basic foundations of meditation and helps to clear and reset our metal focus.
Get active
Exercise is another crucial piece of combating stress. Physical activity of any kind lowers the stress hormones that affect us so negatively. Exercise options are obviously limited these days. The gyms, and organizations that hold classes are all closed. This will certainly make it more challenging but there are still plenty of options. Many of the places that hold classes have moved those classes to online. Find one that resonates with you and get moving. Even if it is just taking a walk outside. Make the time to move. Speaking of which…
Get outside
Being out in nature has been shown to have very powerful effects on stress levels. Taking time to just go for a walk in the woods calms the active focused parts of our brain and allows our mind to rest and relax. Take your exercise routine outside to get double the benefit. The fresh air, vitamin d from the sun and escape from the negativity of the TV is just what the Doctor ordered.
Stay connected
We need to stay physically distant but that doesn’t mean we should be emotionally distant. Check in with friends and family with more than a text message. That thing in your hand that you stare at all day? Did you know it also works as a phone and you can actually talk to people? Really! Even better face time or set up an online meeting with a group of friends. Have a remote night out. Get a few close friends in a group chat and hang out.
I saw the power of this first hand when my 11 year old son did his first Zoom meeting with several of his friends. He’s a boy and young so when we talk to him about what’s going on he’s always “good and fine, fine and good” in his response. The smile on his face when he could see and talk to his friends, though, told a different story.
We are social beings and need to stay connected.
Together we’ll get through this.
