Are you ready to get real, and take a deep dive with me? The question I posed to myself this morning was "How do you stay positive when there is a lot of stress going on in your life." I'm not talking about "eustress." Good stress. Like, the stress when you are preparing for a presentation and you feel challenged because you want to do a good job. I'm talking about the nagging blows life constantly throws at you.
2020 has been. Unique. There have been lots of downs. A few ups. But it feels like a lot of downs. We have been in this pandemic forever and wondering when will it end. Many of my clients have experienced more lows than ever and reverting to more eating and drinking. I have been working with many of my clients on stress management and self-care. We know emotional eating or whatever negative response to your emotions, long-term does not support our wellness. Here are a few strategies I use with my clients to help them better cope with tough seasons.
#1 Notice the Trigger (It could be that you are triggered by a happy event, such as I was recognized at work, so let's go celebrate! Or it could be, someone pissed you off, and you need a "drank.")
#2 Recognize/awareness of the behavior. Pay attention to your physiological reactions to being triggered. For example, you might feel energized by something positive, and want to go party! Or, if it's a negative situation, such as someone rear-ended you in the parking lot, you might notice you're body feeling tense, jaws clenched, or you're getting hot. Once you are aware of those physiological cues, you have the power to control how you respond.
# 3 Replace negative behavior with a positive way to move through the challenge. Okay, so this part will take practice because this requires re-wiring the neural pathways in your brain to create a new way of reacting and thinking, Basically, it's how a new habit is formed.
For example. Let's say, your spouse ignored (which is your perception, maybe they didn't hear you) what you said. This would typically trigger a reaction from you that you begin to experience physiologically such as your jaw clenches. Once you notice this reaction. STOP! Literally, stop and breathe. Catch yourself. Take control. Take captive the thought! Count to 10. This is your opportunity to create a new, more positive, and different response. For this example, it could be "Babe, I'm not sure if you heard me or not..." This can create more much more positive outcome versus eating your feelings, drinking your feelings, playing the quiet, "I'm going to ignore you back," game, or just going off.
So, here is a simple way to remember how to change your response to a more positive one.
STOP! S means to STOP. Breathe. Notice. T means to take a moment to assess what you are thinking. O means to oxygenate, or do get some water. P means to pause to ask yourself or that person more questions before jumping to a conclusion.
When it comes to eating for stress, this strategy can work beautifully. Before you run to the fridge or pantry, STOP! Breathe. Notice what you are feeling. Are you physically hungry? Or do you have a sudden urge to eat? Physical hungry grows. Emotional hunger comes on suddenly. Drink some water. Ask yourself why you want to eat.
This takes practice. Be kind to yourself. How can you work on cultivating this habit? What
is 1 thing you can do this week to improve in this area?
If you need help, I can help! Reach out to me at fullpotentialfitclub81@gmail.com Let's talk!
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