You know how it is:
There begins a “feeling in the air”… You may experience a sense of: excitement, dread, urgency, overwhelm and sadness. Which then continues on to…
Physical symptoms:
Disturbed Sleep: Difficulty falling or staying asleep as well as early morning waking, thinking about “the to do list”.
Body Pain: Neck and/or back tension. Joint pain.
Appetite Changes: Forgetting to eat. Over-eating.
Moodiness: Feeling less tolerant, short tempered and irritable.
Digestive Distress: Heart Burn, bloating, gas, constipation and/or diarrhea.
Fatigue: Feeling run down and tired. “I feel like I am coming down with something”.
If these or other problems start creeping up on you, the cause may be the body’s normal response to stress termed: “anticipatory anxiety”.
Dr. Heidi, ND calls this:
“Anxiety Syndrome”
Dr. Heidi provides ways to help you safely and effectively manage the natural stress response.
FIVE KEYS TO MANAGING “ANXIETY SYNDROME”
1). SLOW IT DOWN.
- Create an inner mantra of “slow it down”.
- Just because the pace around you may be hectic, urgent or busy, that doesn’t mean you need to buy into it.
- Cultivate the ability to maintain an inner calm and clarity.
- It is as simple as saying to yourself: SLOW IT DOWN. Take a breath.
- Ask others to slow it down with you. For example, if speaking with a colleague or in a parent-teacher meeting – ask the other person to SLOW IT DOWN with you. That could mean asking another person to slow down their rate of speaking.
- You might also begin a team or individual meeting with one minute of silent mindfulness together. This is an excellent way to calm “the energy in the room” and help participants get in touch with “the heart of the matter”.
- Ask yourself and others what is important and immediate? What is the next step? What are you (I) needing exactly?
2). RESPOND VS. REACT.
- You have a right to respond vs. react.
- You have a right to take some time before urgently responding to an email, a text, phone call/message or personal request.
- You have a right to ask for 24 hours before deciding on something. For example if your employer or colleague asks a favor of you or asks you to accomplish a task outside of your regular job mandate, you can say “I would like to help you out with that. However, there are a number of other things I am managing right now. I will get back to you in the next 24 hours to let you know if I can commit to this or not.”
- This is helpful if you are asked (especially unexpectedly and/or urgently) to join or lead a club or to coach a team, but feel in your gut that it is a stretch given your other commitments.
- Take some time to seriously assess whether this extra commitment fits into your life and at what benefit/cost to your time, health and sanity!
- I remember a sign my high school geography teacher had posted on his desk. It said: “LACK OF PLANNING ON YOUR PART, DOES NOT NECESSITATE AN EMERGENCY ON MINE!” Right off the bat – he challenged the status quo of reaction vs. response.
3). DO NOT SAY “YES” WHEN YOU MEAN “NO”.
- When you disregard your inner no and say yes instead, perhaps because you fear the other person will be disappointed or upset with you, you end up hurting yourself as well as the other person.
- Saying yes when you mean no, in my experience, is one of the biggest health risks to most of the people I treat.
- Saying yes when you mean no usually results in hidden feelings of overwhelm, resentment, guilt and low self-esteem, giving rise to all sorts of physical health problems such as: headaches, digestive distress, over or under eating, weight gain, fatigue and moodiness.
- Practice starting with “NO” (when it is a true “no”).
- For example. “No. I will not be able to commit to that, but thank you for thinking of me – I am flattered by your thoughtfulness. If some free time comes up and you need a helping hand I will let you know.”
4). MANAGE EXPECTATIONS.
- Let go of perfectionism.
- Give yourself, your family, colleagues, employer and employees GRACE.
- We all need time to adjust from the pace and demands of life.
- Strive to be on time, eat right, sleep 8hrs, get some physical activity and hydrate properly.
- BUT… expect that you or someone you depend on may drop a ball or two!
- Let it be. You might be late. You may not be able to provide the perfect breakfast, lunch, dinner or snacks for your children and family every day of the week.
- You might forget something or someone! The dog or cat might go unfed or under exercised for a few days.
- Forgive yourself. Forgive others.
- Sweat the big stuff, not the small stuff.
- Take your time. You will all adjust and find the right rhythm soon.
- Remember: transition is a big adjustment for all of us! Adults and children included.
5). LOVING – KINDNESS.
- Treat yourself and others with loving-kindness.
- We are all in this together.
- Living the North American Life is not an easy task. The social/cultural context demands so much of our time, money and energy.
- We can challenge the ways of the world and rage against the machine if we want, but the reality for most people is, “that’s just the way it is”.
- One can still challenge the status quo by “dressing up, stepping up and stepping in” while maintaining a different inner attitude than one might expect!
Abide by these five keys to maintain your health and sanity while experiencing a lot more joy, ease and vitality!