Resilience: the Ability to Thrive in the Midst of Stress.

Resilience allows you to thrive, even in the midst of stress.

In most of our minds, I think the goal is to avoid any kind of stress at all costs. We view "physiological and emotional stress" as "negative" factors which can have obvious impact on our mental and physical well-being. The truth is, however, that "stress" is both a normal and necessary aspect of our daily lives. If we did not experience the release of stress hormones in the morning, we would lie in bed all day and not be motivated to accomplish anything! And if we did not experience an increase in stress hormones, we wouldn't be able to finish the project at work under the deadline, get everything done in time for our child's wedding, or fight off an injury or infection. Simply, stress prepares us for action.

If then, stress is a normal part of our lives, the question becomes not "How do we avoid stress altogether?", rather, "How do we maintain stress at helpful versus harmful levels?" ;"How do we avoid living under CHRONIC STRESS?" ;and "How do we thrive when stress levels have to be higher for longer than

normal ?" In other words, "How do we make ourselves more resilient?"

So, lets start out by reviewing some useful suggestions for stress management, things you can do to rebound from stress and keep it at more manageable daily levels. If you research this topic, you will find hundreds of suggestions that are supported by research. I tried to offer some of the staple suggestions as well as some that you may not have ever heard about:

1. Focus on what you can control: This requires some degree of mindfulness, or being "in the moment". In other words, focus on what you can do in your present moment, and don't waste your energy on what you should have done yesterday or how your situation might look next month. Mindfulness is showing up everywhere in the research as a useful tool for managing stress, pain and overall wellness.

2. Practice deep breathing. Breathing through the nose with focus on making sure the belly rises when you inhale is a great way to stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system which is responsible for calming, relaxing, recovery and digestion.

3. Engage in some time of activity. Exercise and activity is a great way to stimulate the release of "happy chemicals" that help to decrease stress. Activity also helps improve sleep, which is often impacted by increased stress.

4. Do something enjoyable: Often we think that the only helpful type of activity has to do with activity that increases the heart rate, but research shows that doing the things that we enjoy has significant impact on our health.

5. Help someone else: It is amazing how important purpose and connection is in our lives. Google the impact of helping others. You will find a plethora of research that shows that the best ways to improve our resilience include things such as being grateful for what we have and helping others! We are social creatures who physiologically and emotionally need connection to other people. When we pay attention to others' needs (stresses), we actually help ourselves to deal with our own stressors much more effectively!

6. Learn a new craft: Tasks that require fine coordination of the hands (areas which have a LOT of neural connections to the brain) are especially helpful in improving mood and decreasing stress. So, consider taking up paint by numbers, wood working, or knitting to help with stress management!

7. Practice Mindfulness and/or Meditation: Both mindfulness and meditation show up in research as exceptional ways for helping to manage stress and overall wellness. My way of thinking about the difference between mindfulness and meditation is this: Meditation generally involves focus on things that "presently are not." In other words, I could spend time visualizing myself on the beach in the Caribbean, or imagining myself practicing a calm response to the coworker who provokes me regularly. Neither of those things are happening in the moment, but by visualizing or repeating calming thoughts and ideas, I can help my brain choose a parasympathetic, calming response. Mindfulness can also be extremely helpful in producing a calming response, but it is actually quite different from meditation. Mindfulness means a "focus on what presently is", or "being in the moment." When we focus on what is going on just in the moment, we give the brain a reasonable amount of things to address, and we do not stress our nervous system out by making it worry about what happened in the past or what is going to happen in our future. Every time i am stressed out by a visit to my doctor's office, my blood pressure and heart rate increases. My strategy (which is exceptionally effective, by the way!) is to practice mindfulness: I focus on what it feels like to have my heart beating rapidly, and I do deep breathing to slow down my fight-or-flight response, paying attention to how this changes my body's response. This focus on the moment allows my nervous system to attend to the stressor at hand: a racing heart and an increased blood pressure response!

8. Limit Multitasking: Multitasking requires the brain to focus on too many things at once. It is much less stressful to be able to be in the moment (mindfulness) in order to accomplish a single task well versus trying to coordinate multiple tasks at once.

9. Slow down: Rushing through the day promotes sympathetic "fight or flight response". This increases blood pressure and the stress response. Sometimes pre-planning helps us to be able to slow things down and still be able to be efficient in getting things done.

10. Journal: Writing down your thoughts can help you process and understand your emotions and can help you release negative thoughts and feelings. Write by hand versus typing. Writing by hand activates more connections in the brain, and is much more rhythmic, therapeutic and calming.

11. Consider the impact of your nutrition: Stress absolutely impacts the ability of our digestive system to process and use nutrition. Poor nutrition--processed and sugary foods--increases inflammation and even stresses the smallest functional unit of our body, the cell! Nutrition is a biggie, and warrants an entire blog related to the impact of nutrition on stress and the impact of stress on nutrition. (Look out for this blog coming soon).

12. Get good sleep.: Time your sleep with the darkness and light. You may have to go to bed earlier in the winter months. Avoid exposure to the blue light associated with computers and phone--this light shuts down the hormone that promotes sleep. Give yourself some down time before you hit the sack (no late exercise or stressful mental activity!). This allows your "fight or flight" response to settle down a bit so that you can fall asleep more easily. Consider darkening shades in your bedroom.

13. Get out in nature: The green in nature has been shown to be soothing and calming (as opposed to red which is very stimulating). Green light is even being studied as a means of pain management for those with chronic pain. The impact of nature on our health also warrants more detailed blogs! Please also refer to previous blog regarding the impact of grounding with the earth on oxidative, cellular stress.

TAKE AWAYS:

1. consider making some changes to one or two of the categories above. Don't try to tackle everything at once. That is a recipe for failure, and actually might even increase your stress!

2. Remember that even positive behavioral changes can be stressful, because they require the nervous system to change what it is already adapted to. So, take it easy on yourself. Move in the right and "well" direction, but take your time, and limit your efforts!

Disclaimer: This BLOG is for Educational Purposes, Only. This information provided is educational and informational in nature and is made only as general information. The information does not establish a patient-provider relationship, establish a standard of care, or offer medical, dietary, or therapeutic care, advice, opinion, diagnosis, or treatment. This information does not replace independent professional or medical judgment and should not be relied upon as medical, psychological, or other professional advice of any kind or nature whatsoever. This information should not be used for diagnosing or treating any mental or physical health problem or disease. You are solely responsible for any action taken based on your interpretation of this information and you are responsible for your own health care decision-making by obtaining any necessary consultations with appropriately licensed health care professionals such as physicians and psychologists.