Practical Strategies To Decrease Stress

Managing the Unknowns in a Time of Unknowns

 COVID-19 & Global Pandemic are words used in daily conversations when we talk about our current events. Most of us at this point in time can say we have been impacted in some way due to the Pandemic and its ripple effects.

Do you know someone who has been sick? Have you or a family member had to receive treatment alone at the hospital to the pandemic restriction? 

With the political climate up in the air, anger, distrust all create apprehension.  Have you wondered what is true or untrue in the media now?

As we move into some sense of a new normalcy, living in and moving forward in a time of unknown is anxiety provoking for a lot of us; not knowing how long kids will be using the online zoom classrooms. Some kids have gone back into a brick & mortar school- how long will we get to stay on school grounds? Will this be long, or sort lived?

Over the last six months I have seen more & more individual’s personally and professionally become increasingly agitated, overwhelmed and experience emotional flooding. *****Their body, mind and emotional inability to relax has created anxiousness, lowered immune system.

Prolonged anxiety, and stress will lower our immune system, cause difficulties in breathing, heart papulations, difficulty concentrating and a lowered productivity and sense of accomplishment. This causes problems in almost every facet of life if we are unable to come back to a place of internal calm and balance.  Being able to mitigate the negative effects of long-term stress, anxiety is so important.

Over the last 15 years much of Western Medicine has begun to integrate the use of Whole Person heath. Identifying that our whole physical system is a amazing complex interwoven system that incorporates physical, mental, emotional, spiritually components.  How we treat one area of our body is going to be impacted by another. It is a domino effect within our human bodies.  In college I was part of a research program that assessed the Mental, Emotional wellbeing of Breast Cancer patients.  Participants had higher rates of recovery when they were active participants in their treatment and had a strong support network.

Being aware of our body, of our environment and what we choose to do with the choices we have, all make both a positive and negative impact on ourselves.  Identifying what areas of control, a person has lowers stress and overwhelm. Being able to identify time for reflection & mediation allows the nervous system in our body to balance and relax. Deep diaphragmatic breathing exercises facilitates a higher level of oxygen into the body and brain. This allows individuals to be more cognitively on point, emotionally steady and helps slow the intake of stimuli when we may be feeling overloaded.

Another well know tool to mitigate stress and overwhelm is engaging in a physical activity.  Channeling the feelings of overwhelm, fear, worry or anxiousness while participating in a high-level physical activity can help release the pent-up chemical imbalance that our brain is producing.  Being physical allows the unhelpful and over the top feelings of anxiety to exit the body through the channeling of the physical activity. Leaving your body with more openness, relaxation, grounding, and relief.

There are so many options to help release the worry and fear of the unknown weather this has been a struggle before our pandemic, or you have just been introduced to the uncomfortable world of anxiety. Discovery & Wellness Counseling is well equipped to help support and guide you to a place of emotional empowerment and increases self-awareness. Living in Action vs Reaction makes for lifelong change