Let’s Talk About Stress
First of all, stress is not the "thing." It's not the job, or the weather, or the events. It's not even about how well you handle stressful situations.
Stress is our body's normal physiological response to anything that throws us out of balance. It is a specific set of physical and emotional events that take place whenever we encounter a situation that is outside of our comfort zone.
Our bodies, and our minds, run best when everything stays about the same. From our blood pressure and breathing to our emotional states, our subconscious minds work to keep everything at relatively the same level. When something happens that creates a change in those "normal" levels, the mind responds by triggering actions to bring it back to whatever it was before.
We are designed to adapt, so the term "normal" refers to whatever we are right now. This applies to our physical state, like our vital signs and weight, and to our mental state, moods, and stress levels.
When something happens that brings us too far out of our "normal" range, like illness, injury, fear, big emotional events, we respond by activating our "fight or flight" response, or our stress response.
Our natural stress response can be triggered by events that are external, like a confrontation or driving in a bad storm, or internal, like an illness or an injury. And because the subconscious mind treats real and imagined events the same, the stress response can be triggered by thinking about stressful things.
When our stress response is activated, the sympathetic nervous system starts a chain of events that affects the entire body. Muscles tense up, and the heart rate and breathing gets faster and more shallow. The brain initiates a cascade of events involving the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, releasing adrenaline and steroid hormones, including cortisol. Our digestive system is also affected by stress, resulting in changes in gut bacteria, nausea, bloating, constipation, and more.
When we spend enough time in a state of stress, that "normal" level of stress increases, raising the baseline. When our baseline stress is high, it takes less to trigger the body's response, so we react to smaller or less significant things in a big way. Lowering our baseline level of stress allows our body to be more selective about what it reacts to.
Taking just a few minutes each day to do something relaxing can decrease your stress, lower your blood pressure, and help restore your sense of calm and wellbeing. It doesn't have to be anything complicated, simply being quiet for a few minutes can be enough. Breathing techniques (like abdominal breathing), meditation, self hypnosis, a walk outside, or doing something that makes you smile are all great ways to de-activate your stress response.
Create the Habit of Relaxing
Notice Your Muscles
Starting at your toes and working upwards, spend a few seconds focusing on each part of your body, slowly tensing and then relaxing the muscles of each part of your body. Work from your toes all the way up to your scalp.
Breathe
Take a deep breath in while pushing out the muscles in your abdomen. Hold that breath for just a few moments, then relax the abdominal muscles and exhale slowly. Abdominal breathing triggers your body's relaxation response by stimulating the vagus nerve and parasympathetic nervous system. You'll notice your mind beginning to clear and your body relaxing right away.
Take a Vacation in Your Mind
Sit back for just a moment and take a few nice deep abdominal breaths. Let your eyes close and imagine a time when you felt really relaxed. Maybe it was a vacation, or just relaxing on a beautiful day. Imagine that moment as if you are there again, with all that you can see, all that you can hear, and how it feels being there. After a few moments you’ll feel like you’re ready to open your eyes, feeling much better.
Spend just 5 minutes each day with these hypnotic stress relief strategies so that you can begin enjoying he habit of relaxing. You’ll begin seeing positive changes in the way you think and feel almost immediately.🍥