It's Important to Learn Healthy Ways to Cope with your Life Stressors
Many bad effects on our health including reducing our
ability to fight infection due to lowered immunity. We need to Rest and Digest
and turn off the Fight or Flight response.
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Rest and Digest
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Learn to Turn OFF
Today's technologies make a lot of things much easier for us, but they can also pester us 24-7 IF we allow them to. Mealtimes should be about unwinding and spending time with those we love, not constantly checking our Social Media.  |
Family Meal Time
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Don’t let texts and emails
disturb you day and night; set a time each evening if you must check your work
emails, stick to a time limit and then turn off again by taking 10 slow, deep
breaths.
Identify your Stressors (both at work and at home)
Recognise the things that add stress to your day and remember to schedule time for YOU like:
- take a nice walk after lunch if you're stuck inside most days (avoid answering your phone during your break times)
- read a book for 30 minutes after lunch if your job requires you to be on the phone or communicating all day,
- if you have younger children to care for, remember to schedule an adult evening every week.
Stay in touch with those you love – this is more
important now than ever
Being
in touch with people we love is good for our overall health. Our system releases a brain chemical called Dopamine in response to feeling loved, sometimes known as the "cuddle hormone" as it's associated with touching, or being touched by, people we love and feel safe around. Dopamine then triggers the release of Oxytocin and Serotonin which regulate happiness and mood.
Endorphins are like opiates; they calm anxiety, relieve pain and reduce stress.
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Spend Time with Loved Ones
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Make Time for your Stress Management: Exercise Every Day
Some people enjoy a morning
meditation, others prefer to read a novel before bed. Here are a few ideas for
stress relief you can incorporate into your daily routine.
Get Fresh Air Daily: most of us
can find a way to walk in our neighbourhood and get at least 30 minutes of
fresh air most days. We don’t have to rush to crowded parks on nice days, we
can get to know our own neighbourhood by taking a daily walk. Try heading in a new direction each week and explore your neighbour like you did when you were younger.
If you don't get out for a walk one or two days this week because life got in the way or the weather was horrible, the important thing is DON'T BEAT YOURSELF UP! Everyone, even Olympic athletes, miss a day of training now and then - we're all human and most of us juggle the demands of careers and families, parents and children, work and play.
If you missed your 30 minutes of fresh air and exercise today, give yourself a break and just add 5 or 10 minutes of increased activity sometime during the day. Simple things like walking up and down your stairs or doing laps of your living room count - just try to increase your heart rate.
Desk Warrior Yoga can trigger the
release of feel-good brain chemicals like GABA, Serotonin and Dopamine (our feel good hormones).
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| Chair Yoga |
Remember to pay attention to your diet and sleep, both vital
components of our general health. |Remember the words of Dr. Bonnie Henry "Be Kind - Be Calm - Be Safe" apply to ourselves too; just do the best you can and don't beat yourself up if you miss a goal. If you can't manage 30 minutes a day, then do what you can today and try to increase by 2% tomorrow.
Excerpts from:
https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/
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