HOW TO RECOVER FROM STRESS OVERLOAD

STRESS

Who doesn’t have it?? Natural disasters, political chaos, global warming, and that doesn’t even touch our personal lives. In our personal lives we face health concerns, relationship complications, work challenges, and so much more. Yikes! My anxiety went up just typing that sentence made! So let’s breathe a minute and get back to an also-true-reality. We can take steps to recover from stress.

Stress is a part of life. The level of stress that we have to deal with on a day to day basis is a choice. Yes, there are life circumstances that rain down on us uninvited.  I’m experiencing a few of those myself right now. Life altering changes occur more frequently when we get to a certain age. Even given this truth, we have the ability to choose our response. So let’s do it.

NOTICE THE SIGNS OF STRESS

When our body is experiencing an uncomfortable level of stress, it sends us signals. When we’re young we’re quick to ignore them. We push through and ignore the knot in our stomach, the headache, the tension in our neck and shoulders, our aching back. To keep going we pop Tylenol, Pepcid-AC, drink more coffee and keep going. We can get away with this when we’re young.  After years of ignoring our body’s signals, however, a couple of things can happen.

MUTED SIGNALS

We lose our connection with our body. We’ve ignored it so much over the years we lose our ability to understand or hear what it is trying to tell us. Are we really hungry or just enjoy the numbing pleasure of eating? We are exhausted, but our mind is wide awake.  Should we sleep or exercise? Is our depression real or are we fatigued? In order to recover from stress we must get back in touch with these signals.

A CHANGE IN TOLERANCE LEVELS

After a certain point, and it is often age-related, our body gives out. It can’t handle any more of the relentless stress we are throwing at it. We get sick, or depressed, or exacerbate the problem by drinking more, shopping more, running more to numb our discomfort until we’re in full out burnout.

THE WAY BACK TO EQUILIBRIUM

The good news is that there IS a way back, and we can recover from stress overload. Our body is incredibly resilient and it wants to heal. It wants to find its original equilibrium and will guide us there IF we follow its lead instead of our own mind-led methods.

TUNE IN TO RECOVER FROM STRESS

The first and most important step in the process of recovering from stress is to tune back in to our body’s signals. This takes time and consistent and persistent attention.

When I began the recovery process from PTSD (and years of stress overload), my support person (support is super important) was wise enough to understand that guiding me to reconnect with my body was the optimum place to begin. I now believe that it is essential in all areas of healing to wake up the essential connection between body, mind and spirit. Our bodies are an important guidance system that is unique to each of us and the best guide for health available to us 24/7.

WAKING UP TO OUR BODY’S SIGNALS

There are a multitude of avenues to achieve this end. Here are a few that have worked for me and used by professionals when dealing with trauma patients.

• MINDFULNESS – focusing on the present moment. Example: Sit in a comfortable chair with your feet on the floor and your arms on the arm of the chair. Close your eyes. Become aware of your feet on the ground. Feel the floor pressing against your feet and your feet pressing into the floor. Notice everything you can about this. Move your attention to your big toe. Notice how it feels against the floor. Then move on to the next toe, and the next; then the bottom of your foot: the ball, the arch, the heel. Notice how it feels to be anchored to the ground.
• TUNE INTO TO HUNGER/THIRST SIGNALS – When you notice you are thirsty, stop what you’re doing, pour yourself a cold glass of water and sit and drink. Take your time. Notice how it tastes and feels in your mouth, and how it glides down your throat and into your stomach. Focus on each tiny step in the process of drinking the water and how your body feels in the process.
• EXPERIENCE WATER – Soak in a hot bath using essential oils or bath salts. Go for a swim and tune into the feelings in your body as you glide through the water. Get a pedicure, but do not text or surf the net while you are doing so. Instead close your eyes and feel the water on your feet, the pleasure of the leg and ankle massage, the pleasure of the experience.
• HEALING TOUCH – Let go of the controls and allow a healing professional to minister to your exhausted body. Schedule an appointment for a massage, a visit to a chiropractor, a facial, reflexology, acupuncture, whatever appeals to you. If you have never done any of these, start slow. Choose one that feels most doable. Then gradually work your way into making it a part of your life. Listen to your body’s signal that is telling you it is time for your next healing touch session.
• ESSENTIAL OILS – After years of ignoring our body we lose touch with our senses. Wake them up with wonderful aromas. I began with lavender essential oil on a cotton ball tucked in little places around my house. Then I went to Whole Foods and purchased one of those little roll on jobs that had an earthy smell because that was the one that called to me. I didn’t roll in on like you can, I just pulled it out and sniffed it whenever I felt stressed or anxious.
• NATURE – Engage your senses to manage stress and recover from stress overload. Go for a walk in the woods. Find a rock, or a twig, or a leaf that is appealing, pick it up and hold it. Feel it as you walk. Bring it home with you and spend time studying it. How does it smell? Is it heavy or light? Rough or smooth?

As I said, the list is endless, but the purpose is all the same, to wake up the senses. They are the gateway to our body and the way it communicates with us.

PROFESSIONAL SUPPORT

If chronic stress and anxiety are having a negative impact on your health and well-being, do seek professional help. New treatments, beyond medication and traditional counseling, are coming online every day.  Neurofeedback treatment sessions have been shown to be highly effective in treating and finding a lasting solution for sleep issues, attention problems, anxiety, depression, and more. Neurofeedback is a non-invasive tool that maps the brain’s activity and allows client’s to spot the brain’s patterns that are present during stress. Working with the patterns, the individual can learn to change the body’s response to one that is positive and healthy.   

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