Quick Fix
Dear Tacit,
Counselling takes a long time – is there anything I can do to help me feel better right away, when I am struggling and overwhelmed in my life?
Signed: Quick Fix
Dear Quick Fix,
This question gets asked from time to time, so I am leaning on an answer we offered previously! Yes definitely – there are a few areas that you could focus on to help you see almost immediate improved results with your overall stress levels. We call these our “Foundations” – they are the four essential building blocks upon which everything else rests – and if they are not solid (on a daily basis), then we find ourselves more emotional, more exhausted, more distracted and more low-energy. That’s when the stress from all the other aspects of our life can creep in and cause even more chaos.
The four key Foundations are these: Sleep, Nutrition, Hydration and Activity.
We need to be able to get the proper amount of restful sleep each night – which means we have to be passing through the sleep cycle stages properly. A good night’s sleep can lower our blood pressure by up to 7 points, allowing us to start the next day at a much lower stress level. When we get the right quality of sleep, our body heals and replenishes/resets itself in many other ways. When this doesn’t happen, we wake up already over-producing our stress hormones just to be functional throughout the day.
We want to be sure that we are eating enough food consistently throughout our day so we don’t run out of the “gas” we need to function. Facing the challenges of the day – emotionally, mentally and physically – requires actual fuel and food intake is a natural way to get this fuel. Learn to graze (small bits every hour and a half) if you find it difficult to eat regular meals throughout the day. If we don’t feed our bodies often enough throughout the day, we end up running on empty, which increases our surges of stress hormone production.
We also need to drink a lot of water – not coffee, or pop, or juice, etc. Our bodies need water to work effectively – on average, we want to be urinating about 8- 10 times during our waking hours or our bodies will produce extra stress hormones to push through the dehydration in our system (which decreases our ability to function in every way).
Water is also one of the four ways we can flush cortisol (the stress hormone) out of our systems, which lowers our stress levels. (Some of the other ways to flush stress out of our systems include crying and sweating – both of which also require hydration in order to be effective and to not result in increased stress hormone production.)
And even though it can be hard to do at times, especially when we are facing challenges with mental health issues, we need to be active throughout our day. This doesn’t always mean going to the gym or playing sports – sometimes, being active means just being able to get out of bed to walk around the house, or maybe going to the backyard just for a minute or two. Do what you can – and aim for moments of activity at least 3 times a day (no less than 5 minutes each time, if you are struggling) – once in the morning, once in the afternoon and again in the evening. Spacing out the activity has better end results than when we try to cram it in all at once.
Take care!
Interested in knowing more about how to be successful with the critical foundations that must be balanced every day in order to manage a hectic life? Do you know the difference between “Pause” and “Refill” breaks (and how to integrate both throughout your day)? Learn how to dump cortisol (stress hormone), and boost happy hormones (especially when life is trying to force the opposite to happen). And figure out how to establish appropriate boundaries, without feeling a lot of guilt.
Join Tacit Knowledge, in partnership with Beaumont FCSS, for a FREE 4-Week Support Program – September 30th to October 28th (Monday evenings) at 6:30pm (for an hour or so, each time) for “More Than Bubble Baths”. This Program is happening via Zoom and is open to everyone (you do NOT need to be a Beaumont resident to participate). To register, contact FCSS at 780-929-1006 or fcss@beaumont.ab.ca.
Do you have a question you would like us to address? Please feel free to reach out to us at counsellors@tacitknows.com. Your answer will be provided confidentially.
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