“ Stress is not what happens to us . It ’ s our response TO what happens . And RESPONSE is something we can choose .”
meaning in our lives , and fearing what the next change will bring .
Learning to navigate change can be difficult . For many of us our confidence dips in the face of change feeding our anxious thoughts that we can ’ t handle another challenge . How we react to stress can become imbedded in our nervous system so that any perceived stressful experience can activate the fight / flight part of our brain sending a cascade of cortisol , adrenaline , and glucagon throughout our bodies . Since most of us freeze instead of fighting or fleeing , these chemicals the brain released can not support us and instead leave us feeling nauseous , with our hearts beating rapidly , our blood pressure increased , feeling anxious and emotional , lowering our immune systems , and experiencing even more stress . We may continue to feel unsettled mentally , emotionally , and physically until we learn how to navigate this new unknown . The impact of living in chronic stress can wreak havoc on our physical and mental health and leave us feeling more and more out of control .
And yet change is one thing we can count on throughout our lives . We change as we age . We change as we grow . We change as we adjust to life without loved ones . As long as we are living we are changing . Losing our center every time we experience another stressful change can leave us feeling ungrounded and fearful . After living through
– MAUREEN KILLORAN
a collective time of so much change , most of us have experienced the painful impacts of living in chronic stress . I am here to remind you that we can choose another way . The art of self-nurturing is truly the antidote to the stress of our times . As we develop an on-going practice of selfnurturing we learn to recover from stress quickly rather than suffering in a state of chronic stress . Nurturing ourselves provides a reserve of energy and a perspective that allows us to make empowered choices rather than reacting to every change from the fight / flight area of our brain . Learning to tend and befriend our experience of change grounded in self-nurturing allows us to respond to change with self-compassion , self-awareness , self-confidence , and selflove .
Here are five strategies to cultivate self-nurturing practices as an antidote to stress :
1 . Mindful Pause
Give yourself the gift of a mindful pause throughout the day to breathe and check in with how you feel and what you need with self-compassion and curiosity . Ask yourself what would the most nurturing thing for me to do for myself in this moment be .
HEALTH & WELLNESS
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