Slow Down and Assess Your Stress

There are so many ways to manage stress that are healthy and positive, yet the hard part is that when we are under stress, we are less likely to access the very things that might help the most.

I recommend that you slow down and really pay attention to how you are FEELING in the moment.  If your mind says "I am so stressed out" then what are you actually feeling in your body?  Is your heart racing?  Is your skin feeling hot?  Are you agitated and don't know where to put yourself other than in the kitchen?  These are signs that something is going on that might be worth paying attention to.

After all, stress is a feeling.  And, because it is a feeling, that means it comes and goes, ebbs and flows.  Sometimes you feel it more so than others.  With the global pandemic among us (a major stressor for the world) I have noticed that sometimes I feel overwhelmed with it all, but far more often, I am frustrated and can redirect my mind's eye to something that makes me feel better.

Giving yourself a moment--three deep breaths, a five minute walk outside, a quick windex in the bathroom mirror can be a way to SLOW down the stress and assess the situation.  Is this a major moment--I need a drive away from this house, all by myself kind of feeling?  Or, is this just a moment that I can get past with a walk, a drink of water, a distraction, a load of laundry, a knitting project or a puzzle?

You know me.  I do not suggest pretending it isn't real.  That's more stressful.  I am also not suggesting that you think about other people who are worse off than you and then hope that makes your plight bearable.  I am suggesting that you take note of how you are feeling, and you press the pause button and redirect your body and mind and spirit elsewhere--away from food or drinks.  THEN, you can come revisit your food or drinks after that break. 

Food will solve a hunger problem.  Comfort food will help you feel better in the moment--but we need way more comfort in covid19 times than we have calories for.  So, consider pressing the pause button when emotions, boredom, stress, quarantine fatigue set in and do something that will not only help you feel better in the moment, there will be no negative side effects afterwards. 

Read?  Set?

Press Pause.