With the COVID pandemic taking place, the number of people who are depressed and anxious has skyrocketed. Heightened levels of unchecked stress is typically the culprit. Most people might know of 2 to 3 measures of how to reduce stress, but if they were honest they probably don’t even tap into those skills due to their lack of motivation and education. This episode is packed with plenty of stories, references, and guidance for those who need a little boost of inspiration. I felt a need to research, read books and listen to podcasts on how people can effectively reduce stress. With meditation being one of the many tactics you can use to reduce stress, I picked my friend Jessica Gearhart who has a real passion for deepening her understanding of meditation to help me cohost this episode. She helps me tackle these topics on stress and how to better cope with it. We talk about: how stress plays out in people’s lives, how to recognize when stress is reaching heightened levels, and how to mitigate stress with various practices (meditation/yoga/exercising/etc.). If you are searching for ways to become a better person, parent, spouse, and coworker then this podcast is definitely for you. Lets face it, people want to be around others who are calm and in the moment, not with people who are stressed out.
Also we get to know Jessica at an in-depth level in the interview portion of this episode. She talks about her childhood and how that helped shape her into who she is now. We talk about about how: traveling can enrich your understanding of how to view things differently, how the COVID pandemic has impacted her life in both positive and negative ways, and her truths/fears of life.
The synergy Jessica and I have together is very apparent making this a fun and engaging episode. Be sure to listen to our meditation portion in this episode, we both explore this topic at great depths. I hope you enjoy this podcast, thanks for tuning in.
~~~~~Time Start Agenda~~~~~
0:00:00 - Intro
0:06:46- What this podcast is about
0:09:29- Jessica’s Q&A
0:38:23- Topic 1: The Stress Barrel Analogy
0:41:59- Topic 2: Recognize it (how it plays out, what it looks like for me, positive feedback loop)
0:50:19- Topic 3: Balance it through turing down stress contributors
(plan your day/ Avoid negative people/giving balance/ less is better)
1:09:16- Topic 3: Balance it through turing up stress reducers
(Meditating/ exercise/ yoga/ journaling/ mindset)
1:47:13- Conclusion
~~~~~References~~~~~
Books:
1. ”Simplicity Parenting” by Kim John Payne
2. ”Give and Take” by Adam Grant
3. “Autobiography of a Yogi” by Paramahansa Yogananda
4. “Self Journal” created by Best Self
5. “The 5am Club” by Robin Sharma
Podcasts:
1. Time Ferris Podcast #444 with Hugh Jackman
Websites:
1. www.ananda.org
2. https://wakingup.com Sam Harris
3. https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/stress-symptoms/art-20050987