STRESS BUSTER TIPS

These Nifty Solutions Can Hold You Over Until You Make Your First Appointment!

REGULATE IT!

When your body doesn't know when its next meal is going to be or its next rest stop is going to occur, it can send you into a wild swing of anxiety and physical stress. Try to create a healthy and regular eating, sleeping, and waking cycle that is predictable and doable. This alone will help combat you during stressful times when we might be skipping meals and sleeping irregularly: which contribute to more stress!

STRETCH IT OUT!

Did you know your muscles can hold onto feeling memories? Sometimes these aren't great memories either! Regularly stretching the muscles out can release those negative emotions so they don't hold you hostage any longer. Try some YouTube yoga or simply child's pose on the floor for just 15 minutes when you feel overwhelmed. Quickly move those feelings through and out of your body and look forward to feeling refreshed!

CHILL OUT!

You ever heard or Irish Showers? This is the kooky notion of taking your regular hot shower, then spending the final two minutes of your shower on the coldest setting possible. And not just an icy spray on your toes, either. We are talking a cascade of winter water from your head to your toes; paying close attention to your chest and back areas: your core. This chilly fountain will reset your stress response as it abandons stress indicators in order to warm up your "brown fat" sending your brain into a forced mediation--that's where the magic begins! It's a great way to start the day off right! But don't do this before bed! It will keep you up all night. Save it and brave it only during your morning showers!

GO FOR THE BLUE & GREEN!

Being surrounded by nature's greens and blues can instantly give you a sense of calm. The green leaves of trees, emerald blades of grass, and the variegated plant foliage are the greens we are talking about. Prefer blues? A natural lake, river, or ocean is where it's at! Head out to hike or sit quietly in a forest or venture out to a body of water and plop yourself in view of it. Soon you will feel nature's medicine roll right over you before you know it.

JUST BREATHE!

When we are in stress mode, our sympathetic nervous system kicks into gear and causes all kinds of psychological and physical sensations that alert us to fight, flight, or freeze. Cortisol, the stress hormone, is pumping through our veins and rallying the nervous system too. When you breathe deeply, it temporarily shuts it off! Try slow, steady, breaths and only through the nose. (Mouth breather isn't just an insult on Stranger Things. It actually drives your panic up a notch.) For added control, breathe in through one nostril and out the other. You will feel cool, calm, and collected in no time!

BECOME A "NO" "(WO)MAN"

Learning to put your mental health first starts with learning to say "no." The universe is NOT going to fall apart around you if you decline a request, or two, or three. Learn your own boundaries. Take on only what you can safely manage without putting your mental health at risk. A great science to put into practice is dividing your day into thirds:
1/3 for your responsibilities to others
1/3 for your responsibilities to yourself
1/3 for stillness
This is will make you feel whole!