If you could do ONE thing during times of stress, let it be this.

This is part of my “one thing” series.  Other posts in this series can be found here.

If there’s one thing to do during this stressful time, and do now, it’s this:  To listen to your thoughts and to let go of those thoughts that are not serving you well.

For those of us with chronic health conditions and autoimmune disease, becoming mindful of your thoughts can be so beneficial for stress levels (which can either help or hurt your condition). Not only for you but for others in your life that you are close to.  Heck, even those you aren’t close to can benefit. I’m thinking of a person who cuts in front of you at the grocery store. What are your thoughts during that event?  Are you even thinking, or just reacting?  How do you *want* to think and react?

What are your thoughts telling you?

I’m writing this on March 28, 2020. Times like these are telling, and many of us are stuck at home, wondering what to do with our newfound time. Or, we’re overworked because suddenly we’re working from home AND we have kids to take care of at the same time, and on top of that we can’t go out to blow off steam or meet up with friends like we usually do.

It’s crazy, and our thoughts can really take over and mess with our heads during this time.  They can cause a great deal of anxiety and worry if we are not in control of those thoughts.

Sometimes, maybe more often than not, our thoughts tell us things that simply aren’t true.  And we get into a downward spiral of believing them, instead of stepping back from the thought, considering it, and then moving on to a more productive place.

Stress = Fight or Flight or Freeze.

When we’re anxious and on edge, we go into “fight-flight-freeze” mode. This is great if we are truly in danger (if we think of our ancestors, this is avoiding danger: predators, neighboring tribes who maybe weren’t so nice, maybe some random weather event).  The stress response kicks in, and after the danger has passed, our bodies return to a normal state of being. Ahhh.

The problem today is that there is so much stress on a daily basis that it’s hard to completely turn off that “fight-flight-freeze” response. That’s where the body gets into trouble, creating elevated levels of stress hormones which lead to chronic illness (heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, autoimmune disease, etc).

And now, this virus.  Stress is at an all-time high for much of this world.

So what to do? We can alleviate that stress and release that energy, which can be done by breathing, by exercising physically, and, most importantly, by exercising mentally. By listening and understanding our thoughts.

We find out who we REALLY are in times of crisis.

If you put in the work of “exercising your mind”, you’ll be in a much better place to handle whatever comes your way.  This isn’t to say things will be all kittens and motorcycles (daisies and daffodils, what have you) when the shit hits the fan, but things will be easier to deal with.  You’ll be a better person to yourself and to those around you.

Sam Harris has a great 20-minute podcast called “Meditation in an Emergency” that he recorded on March 17, 2020.  He states in this podcast:

“I view mental training very much like physical training as, among many other things, as kind of a ‘disaster preparedness’.  Who will you be on the most stressful day of your life? When you lose your job, or when someone close to you gets sick or dies? You will only have the mind that you have built for yourself. You will only have the skills that you’ve acquired.  And honestly, the writing is on the wall here.  We are ALL going to experience, in a wide variety of ways, an extraordinary amount of stress in the coming months…. an untrained mind  – which is to say, a perfectly normal one – can be an extraordinarily unhappy place to be in.

If you care about your own sanity and you care about offering effective support for the people around you, it’s worth paying attention to the mechanics of your own mental suffering.”

You can listen to the full 20 minutes from Sam Harris here:

Sam also has a great website (and app of the same name) called “Waking Up” which is a fabulous introduction to meditation.  He guides you through a daily mediation for 50 days – for free.  Each mediation is about 8-10 minutes long.

The Insight Timer is a great app with guided and timed meditation sessions.  There is a free and paid version.  Ten Percent Happier also has many free resources, as does Calm and Headspace.

Tara Brach is also a great resource for mindfulness and meditation and has many talks/videos/podcasts on the topics surrounding the coronavirus pandemic.  Lovely to listen to, cannot recommend her enough.

However you choose to do so, would you be willing to take 10 minutes each day to devote to yourself, your thoughts, and your mind?

You’ll be a better person to yourself and to those around you. I promise.

My offer to you.

In light of all that’s been going on in this world, I would like to offer you, dear reader, some coaching.

I will listen deeply, offer empathy, and help you make sense of what’s going on in the world right now. It does not have to be about nutrition or autoimmune issues. We can talk about anything that’s on your mind.

We can talk about anything that’s on your mind:

• creating new habits in this “new normal” – or maintaining current habits
• work challenges – either working from home or being out of work
• figuring out how to best spend your time with your now at-home children (and still retain your sanity)
• how to cope if you have too much free time, or if you are finding it hard to strike a work-time vs. free-time balance in light of recent changes
• how best to manage stress
• guilty feelings about not having to go work or the gym or maybe cheating on your diet
• feeling ok doing absolutely nothing for a while
• helping you create structure in your life and a plan moving forward – whatever that may mean to you
• help you regain control if you are feeling out of control
• if you are a health care worker, I can offer empathy and support for what you are facing right now.

To book your Complimentary “Meet & Greet” Session and Assessment, click here.

Be well, everyone, and I look forward to meeting you.

Sandy

Sandy Swanson is a Certified Functional Health Coach who received her training from Chris Kresser’s ADAPT Health Coach training course (A-CFHC) and is also a National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach (NBC-HWC).  You can learn more about her here and more about what coaching is here.