25 Mar Stress Free?
“Let’s talk about stress, baby! Let’s talk about you and me.” I love a good icebreaker. Don’t you?!
We are still in our self-assessment series and this week, can you guess what we are rating? Stress management is an on-going skill and it feels like there is a never-ending amount of opportunities to make progress or regress. And while the word stress often carries a negative stigma, stress can come with good things in our life too.
The Cleveland Clinic describes stress as:
The body’s response to a challenge or demand. Everyone experiences stress, which can be triggered by a range of events, from small daily hassles to major changes like a divorce or job loss. The stress response includes physical components such an elevated heart rate and blood pressure, thoughts and personal beliefs about the stressful event, and emotions, including fear and anger. Although we often think of it as being negative, stress can also come from positive changes in your life, like getting a promotion at work or having a new baby.
You can read Cleveland Clinic’s 10 Ways to Ease Stress here.
One of the best recommendations I have ever heard regarding managing stress is to identify a time when you are in a healthy headspace and then grab a pen and paper and jot down activities that bring you joy, help you find clarity, and most of all, help you de-stress. Keep that paper or notes page in a safe and accessible place, so when you’re going through the ringer, you don’t have to rack your overwhelmed brain to find a way to help you get out of that hole. Your healthiest self will walk you through several personalized, tried and true options.
It’s time to pause and rate yourself using a simple scale of 1-5. A rating of one means, “needs improvement” and a rating of five means, “doing great.”
Today’s question. If I’m honest with myself:
- How do I rate my satisfaction with how I handle stress?
- How happy am I with the frequency and types of de-stressing activities I engage in?
Bonus: What can I celebrate and be proud of about my stress management skills?
By Victoria Emmitt RD
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