Completing The Stress Cycle
“Emotions are tunnels. If you go all the way through them, you get to the light at the end. Exhaustion happens when we get stuck in an emotion.” Below are recommendations of ways to move through the difficult emotions from the book, Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle;
Physical Activity - The single most efficient strategy for completing the stress response cycle is physical activity. Choose an activity that brings you joy!
Breathing - Deep, slow breaths down-regulate the stress response— especially when exhalation is long and slow and goes all the way to the end of the breath so that your belly contracts.
Positive Social Interaction - Casual but friendly social interaction is the first external sign that the world is a safe place.
Laughter - Laughing together, and even just reminiscing about the times we’ve laughed together, increases relationship satisfaction.
Affection - When friendly chitchat with colleagues doesn’t cut it, when you’re too stressed out for laughter, deeper connection with a loving presence is called for;
Hugging - Hug someone you love and trust for 20 full seconds. Hugging increases your social-bonding hormone oxytocin, which lowers your blood pressure and heart rate.
Kissing - Kissing for 6 seconds requires that you stop and deliberately notice that you like this person, that you trust them, and that you feel affection for them.
A Good Cry - Researchers have found that crying activates the parasympathetic nervous system, which helps your body rest and digest. It may take several minutes of crying before you feel the soothing effects.
Creative Expression - Engaging in creative activities today leads to more energy, excitement, and enthusiasm tomorrow.
Question: How can you fit more of the above activities into your day to day?
Action: The internet is a funny place— find a good, light-hearted video that always makes you laugh and watch it.
Here are two of my favorites if you need inspiration;
💜 a good quote…
Quotes from Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle,
“One thing we know for sure doesn’t work: just telling yourself that everything is okay now. Completing the cycle isn’t an intellectual decision; it’s a physiological shift. Just as you don’t tell your heart to continue beating or your digestion to continue churning, the cycle doesn’t complete by deliberate choice. You give your body what it needs, and allow it to do what it does, in the time that it requires.”
“The good news is that stress is not the problem. The problem is that the strategies that deal with stressors have almost no relationship to the strategies that deal with the physiological reactions our bodies have to those stressors. To be “well” is not to live in a state of perpetual safety and calm, but to move fluidly from a state of adversity, risk, adventure, or excitement, back to safety and calm, and out again. Stress is not bad for you; being stuck is bad for you. Wellness happens when your body is a place of safety for you, even when your body is not necessarily in a safe place. You can be well, even during the times when you don’t feel good.”
