Hello! Following our ‘Stress Management 101’ session here are some of the top tips and tools.
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Three Tasks of Stress Management…
Tracking in the Window
Our aim is to spend as much time as we can in the WOT, spend less time in hypo or hyper arousal.
In order to do that we need to be able to sense when we are starting to move up and out or down and out of our windows.
The best way of judging where you are in your window, of knowing how much juice is in your system, is awareness of physical sensations. This is called interoception.
This is about practice and repetition. Choose moments in your day to check in with your body’s experience: when washing your hands/stopping at lights/boiling a kettle.
Try a body scan: moving through the body in your mind’s eye noticing sensation/energy/tension in each part.
Getting into the window: Body Resource
Using the body to calm the mind via the nervous system
Maximal inhale through the nose followed by another inhale through the nose and then a long exhale out through the mouth. Do 3 sets of 3 each day to help widen your window.
Fantastic for in-the-moment stress management.
Arrange hands as in image with one hand under and slightly behind arm pit. Breathe slowly while holding this position, giving pressure to the upper body.
Holding a cushion to your torso, wrapping yourself tightly in a blanket, or firm strokes to limbs and torso also provide containment.
In standing, ground your feet, noticing your contact with the floor. Start stacking your joints: ankles over feet, knees, over ankles, hips over knees. Tilt your pelvis until it’s in neutral. Then allow your spine to lengthen upwards, as if someone is gently stretching it from the top. Tuck your shoulder blades back and allow the crown of your head to float upwards.
Taking a moment to place a hand on your heart or belly, closing your eyes and tuning into how you are feeling. Then, whatever the emotion, choosing to meeting yourself with kindness, compassion and a little statement eg “You’ve done all you can”.
Widening the Window
Work/Rest
Healthy Relationships
Research from Harvard has shown that the number one predictor of happiness and wellbeing throughout our lives is the quality of our relationships. That means investing time and attention towards those closest to us. But there can be surprising gains in finally ignoring our parents advice to not talk to strangers…….
‘Having more day-to-day interactions with acquaintances was associated with greater feelings of belonging and subjective well-being (Sandstrom & Dunn, 2014).
Healthy window widening relationships are characterised by two things:
Safety and connection.
It’s worth remembering that we need to be receiving AND offering this in our relationships.
Daily Habits: Phones
Daily Habits: Nature
It’s really about being present, being curious. Taking the headphones out, lifting the head up and starting to look around. Noticing, the weeds in the pavement, the neighbours garden, the clouds moving across the sky.
Within one hour of waking up, get direct exposure to sunlight (no sunglasses, windows, or windshields) for at least 10minutes, or 20 on a cloudy day.
Daily Habits: Gratitude
If we want to rewire our brains toward a more positive mindset then when something good happens we need to savour it. That means thinking about that good thing and dwelling on it for around 20 seconds at least.
Examples of Gratitude practices:
write down 3 or 4 things each evening that you are glad happened in your day.
playback your day in your minds eye before you fall asleep, looking for the good moments
Text, write or speak your gratitude for others too them - it’s good for you both!
Remember….
Whichever shifts you choose to experiment with, remember that powerful outcomes are often delayed. Don’t loose heart if it takes a while to see results - they will happen!
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