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Coping with stress
If you’re a doctor, nurse, care assistant, paramedic, domestic, portar, hope I didn’t miss anyone, this post is for you. Whether you work in a hospital, in community or taking care of elderly, I am here to offer my support.
I am Ruxandra, I am a nurse, a life coach, a stress management and relaxation practitioner and an energy healer.
In today’s post, I want to emphasize on the positive side of stress and what you can try to de-stress.
First, let’s see why stress is good.
Stress is a response that helped our ancestors to survive. The good news is that when we are stressed, all the body mechanisms are intensifying to help us to stay alive. Starting with stress hormones adrenaline, cortisol, norepinephrine, and concluding with our body responses, stress is here to help us. All the hormones create a body response and we become more alert, trying to stay alive. But how much stress is good? When stress has an impact on your personal life, when you feel drained, sore or sick that may be a sign of a prolonged exposure to stress.
If you aren’t called to deal with an emergency, do you need all these body adjustments? Is your increased heart rate or blood pressure helping anyone?
Now, that is fresh in your mind and you are aware of how your body reacts to stress, here are some tips that can help you to cope better with stress.
📌 Close your eyes and identify what irritates you;
📌 Silently say to yourself: “sharp mind, relaxed body, I can cope with this.”;
📌 Smile inwardly to yourself using all your facial muscles. Then allow the smile to spread to your facial muscles;
📌 Breathe in slowly through your nose to the count of four. Imagine you are breathing in a warm relaxing colour;
📌 Breathe out slowly through your nose to the count of four. Imagine a dark sluggish colour as you release all unnecessary nervous tension. Notice your shoulders drop and your posture becoming increasingly relaxed;
📌 Open your eyes an carry on with what you were doing.
📌 Or, just breathe in through your nose, deep down in your abdomen counting to 6, hold for 6 and out through your nose counting up to 6. It’s really important to breathe in and out through your nose and to take deep breaths. This tells your brain you are relaxed and your body functions will return to normal. Makes sense, doesn’t it?
I will talk about breathing work and its benefits in other video/ post.
Let’s see how stress is affecting you personally.
In this moment, I want you to do a 2 minutes exercise.
If it’s only safe to do so, please close your eyes and think about something that stressed you at work.
Now, become aware of what happens in your body.
Pay attention to your abdomen, shoulders, your heart rate. Now, open your eyes.
This is how your body reacts to stress. Our brains can’t make a difference between a real, physical threat and a stressful situation.
By tensing your muscles, your body gets ready to fight or flight. Increased perspiration helps your body to cool down whether you’re going to fight or for a run . The increase in your muscles tone is getting you ready for action. Increased heart rate and blood pressure pumps the blood in those areas of the body that need it during activity. Your blood will start clotting faster to prepare for injury.
Before concluding, I want you to think about a moment when you felt that your efforts have been seen. A letter from a patient, a relative, a supervision, or a simple “thank you!” coming from someone’s heart. One single thing that reminds you of what a good job you’ve done. Or maybe…that time when…you felt you haven’t done so much, but meant the world to someone. That’s why you are a carer, a nurse, a doctor or a domestic, working in a care setting. Because you care. Because you can make a difference. Because you can help in a meaningful way. Your efforts are noticed .