3 Stressors & 3 Tools
April is National Stress Awareness Month. This is something everyone comes across at one point or another. A little bit of stress is a good thing! Can you imagine if you didn’t experience any stress at all, ever? It might mean you were living a pretty lethargic lifestyle with not a lot going on. That certainly isn’t good for you either. A little stress is what pushes you to plan for things, forces you to prepare for your upcoming presentation or study for a big test. But too much stress is not good for your health. Our bodies are built to deal with threats in the short term. It is a survival mechanism from our ancestors, from the time they had to flee from a literal threat, whether it was a large animal, storm, or other related danger. Now, a lot of things about our modern world can trigger a “flight or fight” response in our bodies, so it is important to manage symptoms of chronic stress so it doesn’t result in a negative impact on physical health. Here are three things to consider that may negatively impact stress levels.
Stressor 1 - News Cycles
The news purposely tries to keep you anxious to keep you watching. For example, a news headline might say “5 Things to Do to Protect Yourself From Being Mugged.” Well, nobody wants to be robbed, so you immediately watch it to protect yourself. The headline triggers a fear response in your body, and leads you to believe that you need to wait to watch the commercial (of course by companies they are making money off of) and watch this list that is supposed to “save your life.” Some of the tips are helpful of course, but the important thing about keeping yourself safe is to listen to your intuition and trust your gut. That doesn’t sell news stories of course, because if you didn’t need a separate list for everything that could possibly go wrong, you would stop watching the news wouldn’t you? A great resource that discusses this is the book “The Gift of Fear” by Gavin de Becker. It is a little outdated, but still has helpful messages that I still use to manage my anxiety to this day.
Stressor 2 - Scrolling Through Social Media
Make sure you are aware of what kind of media you are consuming. Your phone is constantly collecting data about you and personalizes your ads and content. We can quickly fall into the trap of comparing ourselves and our lives to what people share online, even though it’s just their “highlight reel.” This can cause a lot of anxiety if you aren’t aware of it. Be mindful, and make sure you are taking breaks from social media and talking to people about what you’re concerned about. I have found a lot of things online that make me anxious. When I talk through it with someone it suddenly doesn’t seem so overwhelming. There is always the chance that someone has been worried about the same thing, or gone through a similar experience and come through to the other side.
Stressor 3 - A Misunderstood Circadian Rhythm
Our bodies start winding down at night to get us ready for sleep. Even our body temperature and hormones change. If you are using a lot of artificial light at night, like looking at a screen, it is cuing your body to wake back up. This can disrupt the natural sleep and wake cycle that our body develops. Our body releases a hormone called melatonin to induce sleep at night, and the blue light from a screen can disrupt that. Even looking at your phone first thing in the morning can impact your sleep cycle. Instead of letting your body gradually wake up and adjust to the natural light, it is quickly bombarded with artificial light and information before your body is ready for it. This can trigger a stress response in your body, and cause you to be less able to adapt to stressors you face throughout the day.
Now for some tools for managing stress in a healthy way!
Tool 1 - Shift Your Mindset
Your brain sticks to what it knows. If you are used to looking for the negative, that is what it will see. And our brains in general are wired to detect stress in order to keep us safe. However, when this is in overdrive, it can start to have a negative impact on our lives. If our brains constantly go to the worst-case scenario, we may be causing ourselves more stress than we need to. Practice looking at things in a positive way. Journaling about positive things that happen to you at the end of the day will train your brain to look for positive things. A flight is delayed, and instead of excessively worrying about how late you will be to your destination, maybe you’re thinking about now you will have time to catch up on that book you have been meaning to read.
Tool 2 - Share Playlists with Friends
Connecting through music is a great way to connect with people. It is an opportunity to learn about someone by listening to music they like. Music also has a calming effect and helps you focus on the “here and now.” Instead of passively listening to the music, you might listen to it a bit more actively, truly pushing yourself to stay in the present moment to absorb the lyrics and how the music makes you feel, so you are ready for the next music discussion with your friend. Even expressing why you don’t like something about a piece of music is a great way to connect with someone and have a healthy discussion about differences in musical taste.
Tool 3 - Meditation
Sitting and focusing on your breath, a mantra, or listening to a guided meditation is a great way to handle stress. It is a reset for your brain. The main thing to keep in mind with meditation is that there is no “wrong way” to do it. If you feel like your thoughts are racing and you can’t calm your mind to focus on the meditation, it’s okay. Just bring yourself back to your breath when you can. Try not to judge your thoughts, just be aware of them like an observer from afar. Even meditating for five minutes can help reset your brain and manage your stress levels.
A Takeaway
So, in honor of National Stress Awareness Month, do something for yourself that will help you de-stress. You work hard, and you deserve it! It is difficult to remember sometimes, but in order to care for others, we have to care for ourselves first.
Author: Jenni Chute, MA, MT-BC
Editor: Sonya Imperio, MT-BC
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