7 Ways to Protect Your Peace
Work, kids, partners, coworkers, animals, strangers… If I had a dollar for every person and thing that tried to raise my cortisol levels, I’d have enough money to buy a vacation house and a whole lot of stress-induced health problems (or maybe I wouldn’t since I’d have a vacation home 🤔). Anyway, that’s beside the point. Stress, technically, is an adaptive, good thing. The sudden burst of cortisol is protective by nature. When I’m talking sudden burst, I mean the increase in cortisol you receive when exercising, before you do something new and exciting, if you’re being chased by a bear 🐻… but, and here’s the big but, stress is terrible for us when its chronic and driven by the things I originally listed.
As functional members of our modern day society, we deal with chronic stress on a daily basis. I don’t know about you, but if I don’t actively pay attention to it and do things for myself, I turn into a monster 🧌.
So, here are 7 things you can do right now to protect your peace:
The most deceivingly simple but challenging part that must precede all other tips: pay attention to when you start to have a physiological reaction to stress. This looks like: increased heart rate, tapping your foot, tensing your body, yelling, feeling antsy, shallow breathing, etc.
STOP, DROP, AND ROLL! This is not a drill. Stop whatever you’re doing. Drop the breath deep into your core. Roll out your head, neck, and shoulders.
Box breathing- Inhale deeply for 4 seconds, pause for 4, exhale for 4. Repeat 4 times.
Set boundaries for yourself. It is ok to leave your children in a safe space and step out of the room for a moment to reset. It is ok to tell your partner or your coworker that you need a moment to give a thoughtful response. We are conditioned to both expect and provide instant responses/reactions to things. This is not necessary and often leaves you feeling regretful (hello, anxiety👋🏻).
Do a quick brain dump. Set a timer for 5 minutes and write everything down that’s causing you stress right now. No one ever needs to see this, You can do this in a journal, on your phone, or on a piece of paper that you’re going to throw away.
Physically gather up all the emotions. Look for it in your neck and actually grab it. Scan every place in your body and actually pull those feelings out of your body. You may feel silly but just try it! Once you’ve gathered it all, roll it into a ball, and throw it far, far away. (Thank you, Bluey).
If all else fails, turn on your favorite song and dance. Try to be mad or anxious while you’re dancing. I’ll wait.
You deserve a peaceful life. You truly do. Life is not meant to be lived in survival mode. We truly believe that life is to be savored, even the difficult parts because it helps make the good times feel even better. Self-care is not a luxury, but it should feel luxurious.