5 awesome ways to beat stress and restore balance
Let’s talk about stress –
where it comes from
why it’s so bad for us and
what we can DO about it.
“Chronic stress can wreak havoc on your body and mind.” ¹
Oof. How many of us cringe at that quote just knowing how much stress we endure every day? Stress is a beast that’s hard to tame in our modern lives, with SO much pressure on our shoulders to be everything and do everything all the time. We try to balance work, family, hobbies and passions, friendships, personal goals and more. Stress hits us from so many different angles, it’s often hard to understand where exactly it’s coming from and why it builds up to feel so crushing.
At a very basic level, we experience stress because our brain is hard-wired to keep us safe.
And that’s a good thing! Stress is a totally natural reaction to a perceived threat, and this reaction protects us from things that could cause us harm. For our ancestors, threats were generally immediate and direct; i.e. encountering a bear in the forest. These threats were straightforward, and usually short-term. See bear, fight or flee, get safe. We didn’t sit around thinking about the encounter afterward because we had other immediate needs to attend to; like securing food and shelter. Once we got away from the bear (the threat), our brain turned off the stress response and went back to normal operations.
These days, it’s pretty unlikely that we’ll encounter a bear on our morning walk, but that “fight or flight” response pathway is still hard-wired in our brain.
The problem now is that our perceived “threats” are less cut and dry, and they can often be prolonged over weeks, months or years. What this means is that our brain can get stuck in chronic stress response mode. We’re responding to so many different perceived threats all the time; from work deadlines to global crises like the pandemic. This continual, stressed-out state of reaction and defense against threats puts a huge burden on our body’s most important systems; like those that regulate our hormones, sleep cycles, digestion and more.
Our systems get overwhelmed and imbalanced, which means they can’t function as well as they need to in order to keep us healthy and happy.
We can handle short periods of stress and imbalance no problem, but when stress and imbalance becomes chronic, the long-term effects on our body’s important systems can become serious. The imbalances caused by chronic stress can lead to all sorts of mental and physical health concerns that you might never expect were related to your looming deadlines at the office. Learn more about this pattern of stress and health.
The good thing is, there’s a lot we can do to reduce stress in everyday life, and help our body get back in balance.
We all want to live happy, healthy lives, so what can we do to break the cycle of chronic stress and help our body get back in balance? There’s no silver bullet or magic wand to eliminate stress of course, but there are some simple things you can do every day that will really help neutralize stress responses for your body and reduce stress in your life overall.
We built a cheat sheet of our 5 favorite stress-reduction tips for the summer. You can download it here, or keep reading below to learn about these 5 simple ways to reduce stress and restore balance.
Five Simple Ways to Reduce Stress and Restore Balance this Summer:
Have a conversation
One of the best ways to deal with stress and close the loop on negative emotions or thoughts is to talk about it with someone you trust. A good friend, coach or counselor will truly hear you, and can help you “normalize” the stress by affirming that you’re not alone in your experience. This is especially helpful when dealing with workplace drama, relationship stress or work/life balance, because most of us have been through it at some point, and can totally empathize with others who are experiencing the same thing.
Move
One of the best and most proven ways to reduce stress is to move your body! Movement could be running or yoga or even dancing in your kitchen. Movement actually helps us complete the “fight or flight” reaction to a perceived threat (stress) because it gives the signal to our body + brain that we’ve taken action to get ourselves away from the threat and toward safety.²
Play
Play of any kind generally creates the opportunity for laughter and joy, both of which are amazing antidotes to stress. For some people, this might be imaginative play time with your young kids. For others, maybe it’s goofy, fun play time with your dog. It can even be playing board games or arranging a pick-up soccer game with friends. The point is to do something that tells your brain “I’m happy and safe right now, and it feels great!”
Learn a new skill
Learning a new skill connects us to our “beginner’s mind.” The beginner’s mind gives us a dedicated mental space where failure is both expected and encouraged as we learn, and where creativity and innovation can shine freely. In short, it gives us a chance to do something that’s important to us without the threat of expectation and pressure. This is a great way to relieve stress related to work deadlines or performance pressure.
Explore breath-work
There are a number of short breathing exercises that offer a really effective way to reduce stress in the moment, right when you notice it occurring. Breath-work essentially gives you an opportunity to pause and reset during busy, stressful times. To get started, try taking ten deep steady breaths, in through your nose and out through your mouth. This takes less than a minute, and can be done literally anywhere, even at your work desk! For those interested in starting a meditation practice, breath-work is a great first step.
There are many other proven stress-reduction strategies to try as well, like reflective journaling and self-care. It all comes down to what works best for you.
If you’re interested in building a routine of healthy habits or practices to reduce stress in your life, check out these resources to learn more or take next steps:
Read More
Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle by Emily and Amelia Nagoski
Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown
Atomic Habits: Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results by James Clear
Take Action
Warmly,
Kelsey
Kelsey Brasseur, INHC
Recovery Resources Program Director
References:
Chronic Stress Puts Your Health at Risk. Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/stress/art-20046037. Accessed 5/18/2022
Nagoski E, Nagoski A. Burnout: the secret to unlocking the stress cycle. Ballantine Books; 2019
