Every single one of us has stress. We have so much on our plates as we juggle family life, kids, jobs, and the list goes on.  We all do our best to manage and deal and cope, but do we understand stress?  In this podcast, we are going to discuss the stress response to help us better understand it, and by understanding it, we can help manage it.

Stress is caused by the "stressors" in our lives. These are outside sources that we all juggle. Our nervous system then interprets these stressors.  This interpretation is influenced by our past learning, cultures, upbringing, health, and so many other factors and imprints that flavor this interpretation.  This then elicits the "stress response."  When we are all talking about our stress, what we actually mean is our stress response. 

This stress response causes a reaction in our bodies. Sometimes it benefits and helps us, and sometimes it doesn't.  Sometimes the stress response is no big deal, and sometimes we can get to the point where we are stuck in that hyper or hypo active state due to our stress response.

What can we do?! Establish safety.  We are all little boys and girls screaming on the inside for safety.  Follow these 3 steps:

1. Am I safe? Ask yourself this. Remind your brain you are not in physical danger. (If you are in physical danger, RUN! Get to safety!)
2.  Do I feel safe? Most of us don't feel safe. Inside some tension and something is screaming for help. Find that tension.
3. Relax. Relax that part of you that is tense, that is tight, that the stress is sitting in. 

There are many different ways to help us relax and regulate our nervous system to help us manage our stress.

Stress cannot live in a relaxed body! Too often we try to go through our minds and talk ourselves through the stress. Try going through the body!  

We all have stress we are trying to deal with.

We all have imprints and stamps from our life experiences.

These imprints flavor our interpretations of our stressors.

Be kind, we are all doing our best, and are managing the best we know how!

Listen in for more!