Stress will often rear its ugly head in our lives and sometimes on a daily basis. This is definitely something we want to get in check because stress and the stress response really is the number one killer. There is no way around that.
Stress can be defined as a real or a perceived threat to a person’s physiological or psychological well-being. Some of the experiences that people have as a result of stress may include chest pain, exhaustion or lethargy, jaw clenching or teeth grinding, digestive problems and weakened immune systems and more!
Mental symptoms can include anxiety and depression as well.
And stress can definitely be ‘in our heads’ and not just resulting from physiological situations. Our perceptions and attitudes as well as our thoughts play a critical role in our stress response.
There are many things we can do to manage stress and I will write more about this topic in the future, but one of the things that I do that really helps is a very simple technique. Before I share this easy technique, I want to mention that the first step in managing stress is acknowledging it. So even by reading this blog post and looking at those symptoms you are recognizing if you have stress in your life and you are acknowledging it! That is the very most important first step. We want to become tuned in to our own bodies and minds and this is how we micromanage our own self-care because it is indeef THE most important thing of all.
OK, and on to the technique! I discovered this hack on my own and by accident because I’m spending more time in bed as I live and journey with my Stage 4 Incurable Colon Cancer ‘Apparent Diagnosis‘.
In fact, I’ve even been using the technique while I’ve been working on this blog post from my horizontal office AKA my bed.:-) I found myself clenching in my stomach or tightening up and that usually means I’m not breathing properly and I’m becoming tense.
I am aware of this now because I pay attention. So what I do is I just say to myself ‘just sink or just sink in’ or ‘Maggie just sink in.’ And then I seem to take a deeper breath automatically, and I just let my body sink into the bed.
I find that it’s like a reset and that it works like magic for me. And it doesn’t matter if you’re sitting at an office chair or you’re standing at the kitchen sink and you realize that you’re tensing up and your shoulders are tight. Just say to yourself ‘just sink in and let the belly drop, shoulders drop, and then let the body sort of just fall towards your back. And when you do that the breath automatically starts to re–regulate.
I hope you try this out and please let me know how this technique works for you. 🙂
- STRESS & One Simple Technique to Help You!
- Foods With Vitamin C
- Throw These Out! LEAD!
- Cachexia or Wasting Away Syndrome & 3 Strategies
- Happiness Is Healthy & Healing
Foods With Vitamin C
How many of these foods do you eat on a regular basis? This is a really good check in to use. I think in general, we think we eat a lot more fruit and vegetables then we do sometimes. As many of you know I’m a big advocate of fruit consumption and when I work…
Throw These Out! LEAD!
I’m at my little lake house organizing some cupboards and these yellow Tupperware canisters were left here when we purchased the place. It was actually pretty awesome because it came with so many things and it was just turn-key but these have to go!! I have been following the Lead Safe Mama now for a…
Cachexia or Wasting Away Syndrome & 3 Strategies
Cachexia You Say? So here I am after being diagnosed with Stage 4 Colon Cancer in March of 2021, and now dealing with Cachexia on top of it all.. Cachexia is often referenced to as Wasting Away. It is pronounced (kuh-KEK-see-uh) and most people have never heard of it. I have this deep desire to…
MaggiesVitamins 