How to reduce the impact of everyday stress?
Below are my top 12 strategies to reduce mind-body stress:
1. Optimize Your Nutrition -- Clean up your diet from substances like caffeine, alcohol, and refined sugars that exacerbate adrenal stress and eat protein-rich meals/snacks every 3-4 hours to avoid blood sugar swings and the short-term stress of starvation on your body.
2. Supplement -- Take a multivitamin and nutrients to help balance the stress response, such as vitamin C; the B-complex vitamins, including B6 and B5 or pantothenic acid; zinc; and most important, magnesium, the relaxation mineral.
3. Adaptogens -- Use adaptogenic herbs (herbs that help you adapt and balance your response to stress) such as Rhodiola rosea, Siberian ginseng, Cordyceps, and Ashwagandha. The latter really helps with that tired but wired feeling and calms your mind to optimize sleep.
4. Move Your Body -- Exercise is a powerful, well-studied way to burn off stress chemicals and heal the mind, so just do it! It has been proven to be better than Prozac for treating depression.
5. Learn to say “no" -- Know your limits, and don’t take on projects or commitments you can’t handle
6. Avoid toxic people -- You know the kind of person I’m talking about. Drama kings and queens who are constantly taking and never giving. Limit your time with these people or set boundaries.
7. Turn off the news -- If watching the mayhem and madness of the nightly news stresses you out, limit your exposure to the incessant stream of 24/7 media. You’ll still find out what’s going on, and still be able to act as a concerned citizen. But you’ll have more time for yourself. I've stopped watching the nightly news years ago, and still manage to stay informed about the things I care about. The difference is... I get to choose what I’m exposed to.
8. Reframe the situation -- We experience stress because of the meaning we assign to certain events or situations. Sometimes changing our perspective is enough to relieve the stress. For example, being stuck in traffic can be a “disaster” or it could be an opportunity for self-reflection and even a chance to squeeze in a short meditation.
9. Lower your standards --This is especially key for you perfectionists out there. And you know who you are! Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good. Let good enough be good enough.
10. Surrender & Accept -- A Zen teacher once said, “All suffering is caused by wishing the moment to be other than it is.” Many things in life are beyond our control. Learn to accept the things you can’t change, surrender and soften instead of resisting the present moment.
11. Stop being a slave to your to-do list -- Each day spend some time in the morning prioritizing what really needs to be done. Drop unimportant tasks to the bottom of the list. Or even cross them off entirely. The sun rises and falls without us, and sometimes you just have to surrender and escape the tyranny of that to-do list.
12. B-R-E-A-T-H-E (Let it go) -- Our breath is the most important tool we have to modulate the stress response and activate the parasympathetic nervous system (PSNS) also called the rest and digest system. You see the PSNS is in direct contrast to the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) which activates the flight or fight response triggered by stress, fear, caffeine, and just about anything else that creates a heart pounding adrenaline rush. So anytime you feel your stress ratcheting up, try some deep belly breathing or pranayama, and you'll immediately activate your PSNS and feel more relaxed.
The truth is it’s a lot easier to make dietary changes and pop some pills (whether drugs or supplements) than it is to manage our stress. Stress management bumps up against core patterns of belief and behavior that are difficult to change. If you could have done it on your own, you would have, so don't be afraid to reach out for support!
Enjoy a stress-free, joyous and nourished spring!
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