Whenever we feel like we can’t meet the expectations of others (financially, emotionally, cognitively, or otherwise) it causes our fight or flight response to start.  This is meant to protect us from danger, however most of the stressors we experience are not life-threatening and therefore the physiological response doesn’t always help us.  Therefore, we need to learn new ways to manage stress. Different ways to manage it work for different people. Here are some tips:

• Determine what the stressors are SPECIFICALLY – not ‘work’ or ‘kids’ but breaking it down, like ‘never-ending tasks list’ or ‘when my children argue’
• Work on a solution that addresses the specific stressor one at a time
• Practice well deserved self-care
  • Sleep is the number one activity that if prioritized can benefit EVERYONE – shoot for 7.5 hours
  • Choose healthy colorful food- nutrient deficiency causes the body physiological distress and provides it less energy for use
  • Movement is key and the body maintains better health the more movement we do in a day. Research shows that all chronic disease risk factors are declined with physical activity- additionally it shows benefits to mental health.  Shoot for 30-minutes of stable movement per day and no more than 60 minutes sitting completely still.  Try getting up and doing two laps around the office, or do some stretches in your home office.
  • Manage stress- it’s hard, but something we can all do a little better. Take a moment every few hours and close your eyes and breathe.  Easier said than done but we love the phrase, ‘Be a human being and not a human doing’.