The Stress Toll (Coping)- 2/3

If you haven’t had a chance to identify and define where your stress is coming from, I highly recommend you begin with this step. I’ve blogged about it here and there are so many great people out there you can work with to help you determine what’s going on.

In this post, we’ll focus on coping tactics and an effective strategy to deal with stress.

5 Ways to cope with stress

When we’re stressed, it’s extremely difficult to reach for a list of tactics to incorporate in the moment. Instead, having a strategy and toolkit of tactics will help us. Preventative measures.

Building a habit with these (and other) tactics are simple to include in your daily routine. Then when you open up your stress “toolkit”, you know what to do.

1. Breathe

   It seems silly to tell living, breathing beings to breathe, but it’s not. We take shallow breaths throughout our day. We do it unconsciously and never clear our heads of being “busy”.

   STEP 1:

   Set a reminder on your phone, write a post-it note and stick it on the fridge. This can be the first thing you do in the morning.
   STEP 2:

   Breathe in for a count of 4, hold for 4, breathe out for 4. Repeat this 4 times total. Do this 4 times a day

2. Light

   Sunlight and vitamin D play a key role in mental goodness - that’s a rich statement. Animals know it to be true that lying in a sunny spot indoors soaking up the rays helps with their spirit. Research now backs this theory up. What we know to feel good for us, actually is good for us. (1)

   STEP 1:

   Find the sun. ☀️

   STEP 2:

   Soak up the rays. Sit and relax or go for a walk and include all five tactics in this blog post. ❤️

3. Oxygen

   While the oxygen tip does coincide with both breathing and exercise, it’s also about getting adequate oxygen to the brain. Our bodies are designed to work well with optimal oxygen getting to our brains and if that doesn’t happen, we add more stress to our physical and mental health. Here’s a few ideas to raise your oxygen levels:

   • Ensure you have adequate iron. Ask your health care provider to run bloodwork if you are concerned about this. Iron can come in non-heme forms, such as spinach, beans, lentils, nuts, seeds, chocolate, fortified bread.

   • Hydrate! This helps to oxygenate and hydrate your lungs.

   • Get outside and go for a walk. Standing upright and breathing, breaking a sweat can all help. But be sure you are in a condition suitable to take on this activity. If you can’t get the walk in, go outside and breathe.

   • Exercise on a regular basis. Aim for 30-60 minutes daily where you can break a sweat. But only if you’re body can take this on.

4. Meditate

   When we’re hanging on tight during a stressful time, it can be hard to stop, drop and meditate. However, if you practice meditation daily you can certainly reap the rewards of beating down stress when it comes your way.

   There are so many great apps out there (I love ❤️ Insight Timer - not an ad) that help to keep you accountable. But you can also find your groove baking a cake, in your yoga flow, running on the treadmill, walking the dogs, or dipping your toes in snowbank! Make your mind relax and empty itself. These busy thoughts we have are often unproductive, countering what we’re trying to get through in the day.

5. Exercise

   Getting 30-60 minutes a day where you can break a sweat, get a little breathless and perhaps raise the mood. Benefits of exercise not only have physical rewards, but carry the mental perks of improving mood through confidence, self-esteem, positive thoughts and working towards a goal. (2)

   Finding the right exercise for you is most important. Not everyone is a marathon runner or enjoys yoga. What works for you, is yours to workout with and let it change, even daily.

Building a daily practices of B.L.O.M.E. might look like this:

1. Wake up & meditate and use breathing technique (4-4-4). (Meditate, Oxygen, Breathe)

2. Get out for a walk (Breathe, Light, Oxygen, Exercise)

3. Sweaty workout for 30 minutes (Exercise, Meditate, Breathe)

4. Before bed, meditate (Meditate, Breathe, Oxygen)

If you’d like to learn more about recovery and healing with a holistic approach, the third blog post in the Stress Toll series can be found here.

CHECK OUT MY RECIPE SECTION FOR NOURISHING WAYS TO MANAGE STRESS

(1) Penckofer S, Kouba J, Byrn M, Estwing Ferrans C. Vitamin D and depression: where is all the sunshine?. Issues Ment Health Nurs. 2010;31(6):385-393. doi:10.3109/01612840903437657

(2) Sharma A, Madaan V, Petty FD. Exercise for mental health. Prim Care Companion J Clin Psychiatry. 2006;8(2):106. doi:10.4088/pcc.v08n0208a