Even the people who seem to have it all together can go through periods of life-impacting stress. In fact, these episodes can be so severe, that they don't have any sense of what's actually going on in their body. JJ Virgin is talking with me today about how she turned her life from stressful and messy to structured and serene.

JJ is my dear friend and mentor, someone who I've had the pleasure of knowing for many years. She is a world-renowned, triple-board-certified health expert who helps people across the globe lose weight after 40.

We start this episode by talking about stress. JJ explains her early relationship with stress and how she used to mistake symptoms of anxiety with exercise-induced asthma.

Feeling like you have no control over your body is an extremely unnerving experience, especially when it's ongoing. But JJ learned to manage her stress and offers a few practical tips and suggestions that helped her get things under control. A structured day was a huge help to JJ, as this let her schedule some time for herself - whether for exercise, personal errands, or just to stop and breathe.

JJ also shares with us her personal practice for helping shift stress in any given moment - something that is so valuable to learn. Perhaps most importantly, she tells us how mental health should be a priority in our everyday lives and that we should absolutely not feel guilty for taking some time for ourselves.

How do you calm down when you're experiencing a stressful time in your life? Do you allow yourself some downtime every single day? What do you do to lead a less stressful existence?

In This Episode:

• How you can mistake anxiety for other medical conditions, such as exercise-induced asthma
• What effect a complete lack of any sense of where you're going has on your body
• How a controlled schedule and structured day can help you control stress
• Why you should consider investing in a coach and lifestyle community
• Why you need to schedule in some breathing space every single day
• How to not feel guilty for taking the time off that you need
• What the most important health practices are
• Why it's so important to be authentically yourself for your mental health

Quotes:

"I do so much and accomplished so much because of the challenges that I've been through that have made me really develop my stress resilience muscle and my mindset around it." (2:28)

"We all have these big dreams... but you have to take that big dream and go - alright, what's the first step that I need to take?" (7:47)

"We're never better than when we're really fully expressing [ourselves] and we're willing to share and be vulnerable. Because people will relate and say, oh my gosh, she's just like me." (18:49)

Links

Join the top health & wellness entrepreneurs at Mindshare Summit!

JJ Virgin's Website

Follow JJ Virgin on Facebook | Pinterest | Instagram | YouTube

Have you taken my free stress assessment test yet? Get it here!

Check out the full episode post here

Dr. Heidi Hanna's Website

Take control of your stress with the Stress Mastery Program

Follow Heidi on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube