Managing Stress during COVID

"Relax and release the stress from your body..."

Words that sound delightful, but how is this accomplished? In today's world, it can often be difficult to achieve. Stress is the physiological response in our body to deal with what may be perceived as life threatening. For the average person, todays stressors may come from the fear of losing a job, financial worries, health worries or the state of the current global pandemic.

Whatever the stressor, our adrenal glands responds by releasing hormones that increase our heart rate, blood pressure, mental awareness and tenses our muscles in an effort to prepare our bodies for either fight or flight. In doing so, the body will shut down other non-essential (in the moment) systems such as digestion, elimination, growth and healing so that more energy can be allocated to the systems in need at the time.

I remember first hearing about the effects of stress and the "fight or flight" response in our bodies not so long ago, I was mesmorized by the ability of our bodies to prepare for an upcoming "attack". I was also equally intrigued by the idea of our current lives and how we are constanting living in a state of stress, keeping us in a constant state of "fight or flight".

For many of us, this state begins when we drive to work on a busy road, or it may begin with a stressful morning before we even leave the house. We are constantly living with time constraints, feelings of inadequacy, rushing to get to work, from work, dinner on the table, children to bed and this year, COVID. Our adrenal glands are continuously releasing the stress hormone to prepare us for what is to come, and unfortunately, at the same time, leaving us in a constant state of chronic stress.

When we find ourselves living in a state of chronic stress, our amazing body can no longer heal itself as it is meant to do, we find it difficult to recover from an exisitng injury or illness.We do not benefit from nutrition, even with the best quality food, becasue our digestion system is not working at its best. Getting a good nights sleep, where our body is in the "healing" phase, is also compromised by the stress in our lives.

The solution to stress in our lives is relaxation. Relaxation is achieved when we can release all of the physcial, mental and emotional stress in our lives.

It is important for us to try and minimize the stress in our lives, which isn't always easy. Here are some tips:

• Manage your time - when we have our "to do" list in our mind, it can sometimes feel a bit overwhelming. If we write it down on paper and priortize what needs to get done, it can take some of the stress and worry out of our life.

• If you are familar with my blog, you know I am a fan of journaling. Starting a "stress" journal, and making note of the times/situations/events that cause stress in your life. Take note of how you felt both physically and emotionally during these stressful times. Becoming aware of our stress and our triggers, will help us to avoid stressful situations and develop better coping mechanisms.

• Talking to someone - even in our time of social distancing, there is always someone you can reach out to and talk to. If you are not comfortable speaking to family or friends, there are various services available to us. During this trying time, we may be apart, but we are never alone.

• Avoid caffiene, alcohol, sugar and other stimulants. A healthy balanced diet is one of the best things you can do for your mental and physical being, especially when you are feeling overwhelmed or stressed to begin with.

• Relaxation - Yoga has been a great benefit in my life as a form of slowing down, living in the moment and becoming more relaxed. I began my practice looking for some physical activity, but ended up staying with the practice because of the serenity I found on my yoga mat. Yoga Nidra or Restorative Yoga can be very beneficial in many ways for dealing with the stress and anxiety in our lives.