Stress/burnout and tips and tools to help develop healthy stress management skills.

​I love running. However, if I told you I ran a marathon a day, would you be concerned? The wear and tear that type of physical output would have on my body and mind would be overwhelming. I witness many people running a daily mental and emotional marathon with an immense amount of stress and minimal stress management skills. They then wonder why they feel exhausted, depleted, anxious, irritable or depressed. Let me be clear - stress is not bad! It is what helps us feel motivated to make a change and take action. It is when it feels out of control, is chronic and we don't regulate it that it can become problematic.
 
Here are a few of my favorite ways to practice grounding to mitigate stress:
*Breathe slowly and steadily. Breathe in for 3 counts and out for 4-5 counts. Let your exhale be longer than your inhale and remember to breathe from your belly, not your chest.
*Do the 5 senses meditation. 5 things you can see around you, 4 things you can hear, 3 things you can touch, 2 things you can smell, and 1 thing you can taste.
*Do yoga- child’s pose, legs up the wall, or other restorative yoga poses can help anchor you.
*Hold onto something comforting - a blanket, a pet, a photo.