The past several years have been doozy, amiright??? Between the pandemic, social injustice, politics, inflation, and more, we’re all feeling stressed to the max. And we can feel how it’s taking a toll on our mental and physical health.
I’ve been trying to learn everything I can on how to deal with this chronic stress for both myself and my clients.
One major actionable thing I’ve learned from the book Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle by Emily and Amelia Nagoski is the concept of Completing the Cycle.
To help manage our stress, we have to complete the stress response cycle. When we’re faced with a stressor — the jerk at work or getting stuck in traffic when we’re already late — we feel it in our minds and bodies. Our muscles tense, our breathing and heart rate speeds up, and our senses are heightened to deal with this stressor, whether by fight, flight, or freeze.
Unlike our ancestors who would escape the physical threat (such as a wild animal) by running away or fighting it off, we often don’t get that sense of closure from our stressors.
And getting stuck in this state of activated stress response affects our health, from digestion to immune function, from hormones to heart health and beyond.
According to the Nagoskis, the single most efficient strategy for completing the stress response cycle is physical activity. It tells our brain that we have successfully survived the threat and now our body is a safe place to live.
This doesn’t have to be anything structured or strenuous. It can include going for a walk, playing tag with your kids, dancing in the living room, or doing a few yoga poses before bed.
Shoot for 20-60 minutes most days of the week (because we’re all dealing with stress pretty much every day, right?!?). But even just a few minutes is helpful, so don’t let perfect be the enemy of good. 🙂
Create a list of activities that you enjoy, so that you always have something on hand to help complete the stress cycle and feel better fast.