Complete the Stress Cycle to Feel Better

We’re all living in a stress-filled world. We love to help you take care of your body at Pilates in Holland, but taking care of your body doesn’t just mean exercising and eating well. It also means overall mental and physiological well-being. It means dealing with our stress.

I found out my parents have Covid yesterday. They have been feeling terrible all week and suspected they were positive even though they’d received negative results on Monday. I am thankful they got tested again. I am hopeful that they will feel no worse than they do now and turn a corner soon. I am relieved they have stayed home and didn’t see anyone last week. I am so sad that I haven’t seen them in 2 months and can’t be there to take care of them. I am stressed beyond belief.

I think we all are.

In October I listened to an Unlocking Us podcast from Brene Brown where she interviews two sisters who wrote a book called Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle. It struck such a chord with me that I’ve listened to it several times now.

There are SO MANY lessons packed into that hour-long podcast, but the biggest for me was learning about the stress cycle. The first thing to know is that the stressor (what’s causing you stress) is different from the stress itself. If you remove the stressor but don’t deal with the stress itself (the physical and mental responses in your body), you get caught in a stress cycle, leaving your body in a constant, chronic, fatiguing state of elevated mental and hormonal responses that, over time, can wreak havoc on your body. You NEED to complete the stress cycle. It’s like being stuck halfway through a tunnel. You need to go all the way through.

But how do you complete the stress cycle? In the case above, I cried. A lot. And talked to family and friends. But here are 7 ways to complete the body’s stress cycle.

1. Physical activity is the single best way to complete the stress cycle
2. Breathing
3. Positive social interaction
4. Laughter
5. Affection
6. A big ole’ cry
7. Creative expression

Sometimes a long walk is just what I need, or some good cardio Nia movement. Other times a 20-second hug takes the edge off. Often it’s a combination, but it needs to happen often, preferably every day. So find what works for you, or do a little bit of each. No matter what, just complete that stress cycle. Drop us a note to tell us what works for you.