Behavior is like medicine

During this past summer, as I was  knee deep in puppy mode, I reached a point where I was really struggling to adjust to life with two pups. And so I had to pause, reset, and listen to my own advice.

What is that advice? 

Become aware of your stress

Take action to reduce it

Then re-evaluate your stress

*Remember, stress is a generic term to describe your response to stressors. Our body has a system to respond to stressors (THE STRESS RESPONSE SYSTEM), and it’s always trying to help us move toward safety (whether physical or psychological). Stress can look like anxiety, frustration, irritability, overwhelm, burnout, depression, or whatever you experience. 

Safety = returning to homeostasis, or a calm, balanced place.  

If you want to REALLY get to know your stress, our 21 Days to Less Stress program will help. Otherwise, you can start with identifying and scaling the intensity of your stress. 

1. Name your stress and give it a number 0-10 (10 being the most intense version)
2. Action time - this is up to you. However, something rhythmic is always a good idea.  Go for a walk, play or listen to music, swim, bounce a ball, drum, paint, etc. Rhythmic activity helps us regulate. Once you are more regulated, then try more expressive, connective activities like journaling, talking to someone, or art therapy. Then turn on that thinking brain and problem solve, reflect, and reason. 
3. Then, check back in. Name it and give it a number 0-10 again. It’s normal for an initial increase to occur, but this number will hopefully go down after a few rounds of action. The goal is to move towards the 0-3 range.  

So where does the medicine part come in? Imagine you have a fever: you wouldn’t just take Tylenol once and expect it to be gone. You would continue taking Tylenol until the fever is gone. Your behavior is like the Tylenol and stress is the fever. Keep using those tools and resources until you are able to bring your stress level down to a more tolerable range. 

You might need to increase the frequency, intensity, and/or duration of your tools. For example, does a 20 minute walk work better in a 3 hour period, or two 10 minute walks every 90 minutes? What about combining activities… walking with a friend for a venting session?

Save or print this email and practice it often. Your tools are probably good tools; your plan just might need a little adjusting to be more effective.