My 12 Top Tips for Managing Stress and Anxiety in Uncertain Times

Whoever you are and whatever you do, I'm fairly certain you've experienced some form of stress or anxiety at some point in time.

Even just existing in this modern world is a stressful experience these days - whether it's work-related, or to do with health, family, relationships, finances, technology and social media - maybe politics, the uncertainty of impending wars and societal change, standing up for your beliefs in the face of adversity... (this list goes on and on), there's always something ready to rob you of your peace!

Earlier this week, I had the exciting opportunity to do something I'd never done before. I got to go and do an interview for a podcast and video blog!

One of my wonderful yoga students is a property agent and her job can be stressful - she gets a lot of benefit from her weekly yoga practice and asked me to meet with her to share some ways that yoga and mindfulness practice can help her clients in managing the stress of moving house - and much of what we talked about was relevant to herself and her colleagues, too, as they’re in the middle of everyone’s situations and trying to guide their clients through the stressful process!

This made me realise that managing stress and anxiety is something we all need to know about and it's definitely something I can try and help you with, too!

Prolonged stress can have catastrophic effects on the physical body, the nervous system, and the state of your mental health. The longer it goes on, the worse it can get - and if we keep on ignoring stress we will usually find it catching up with us in unexpected ways.

Stress accumulating over a long period of time can affect the nervous system, making it difficult to ever truly "switch off" - your hormones learn to behave differently and you find yourself constantly suffering from one or more of the 4 F's (fight, flight, fawn or freeze). This will affect your behaviour, powers of reasoning, decision-making and ability to function in every day life. You may begin to experience panic attacks or anxiety, depression or emotional dysregulation, extreme tiredness or a compromised ability to focus or concentrate.

In connection to this, chronic stress can affect your immune system, leading to all sorts of dis-ease and illnesses, autoimmune disorders and even eating issues and trouble sleeping - these things can eventually lead to serious illness!

So how can we combat stress?

The first thing is to recognise it. Once you know what you're dealing with, that's half the battle. The thing is, it's not always easy to spot. If you've got a lot going on, you might find things harder to cope with than usual... maybe something bad has happened but you just keep going... or you keep on feeling tired or getting sick, but that's unlike you. It's worth checking in with yourself to see if you're ignoring the stress you're under.

When we have loads going on around us, the first thing to go is usually our self-care - I know I'm guilty of this! You'll tell yourself you don't have time for your yoga class or you don't need that relaxing bath before bed that you promised yourself because you're so tired you'll drift straight off to sleep - except you don't - you just lie there ruminating on your troubles as though it's a never-ending movie playing in your head... sound familiar? We don't even need to be in a state of absolute peace 100% of the time - that's pretty unrealistic anyway - we just need to get to a place where stress triggers don't affect us as strongly or if that seems like a far-away possibility, to find ways to quickly recover after a trigger is identified and dealt with.

Giving yourself time, space and (most importantly) PERMISSION to pause and feel your feelings is a good first step to finding equilibrium again.

Here's some suggestions of things you might try, to mitigate the appearance and effects of stress in your life. Some of them are tried and tested by me personally and some are favourites of people I know and trust. Some of them are quick "in the moment" solutions and some will take a bit more time, effort and planning. Some will work for you and some won't but they're all ideas that you can take and adapt to your own needs...

MY 12 TOP TIPS for MANAGING STRESS in UNCERTAIN TIMES

• Simple Breathwork - my favourite is BOX BREATHING where you choose a number (let's say 4) and then you breathe in, hold the inhale, release into the exhale and then pause into the exhale for the same count in each section of the cycle: ie: breathe in for 4, hold for 4, breathe out for 4, hold for 4 and so on...

  You can continue this for as long as it takes for you to feel calm again. There are lots of different breathwork techniques which you can find all over the internet - try different styles until you discover your favourite.

  GREAT BECAUSE: you can do it absolutely anywhere, for any amount of time, and it needs no special equipment

  
  

• Tapping - sit quiety for a few moments and notice how you're feeling. Then scan your body to see if you can feel where that emotion or tension is sitting in your body. Place your hands there and either gently tap or rub in a circular motion, whatever feels appropriate, and feel that sensation of unease melting away.

  GREAT BECAUSE: again, you can do it anywhere, any time.

  
  

• Self Massage - one of my favourite ways to find a moment of peace! Can be done with or without oils, depending on where you are and what you'e got to hand. Simply do gently massage movements over your face, your shoulders, traps and upper back (wherever you can reach comfortably). You can also massage your hands or your feet. Grab some lovely-smelling hand/foot cream and spend some time on you! GREAT BECAUSE: gentle self-touch is a good way to signal safety to the nervous system and this can be done anywhere for any amount of time.

• The 5 Senses Moment - sit somewhere quiet, outside if possible but that's not essential. Even in your car is fine if that's the quietest place you know. Breathing slowly and steadily, notice 5 things you can see, 4 things you can hear, 3 things you can feel, 2 things you can smell and one thing you can taste. GREAT BECAUSE: connecting to the physical senses brings you back to the present moment, away from your thoughts and into the physical world, giving your mind a little pause to reset

• Gratitude Practice - Either in the morning or just before bed, or maybe at various moments during the day, pause and notice gratitude. Think of something that has made you thankful and let it sit in your heart for a moment. You can write it down in a little notebook by your bed and then, in moments of trouble, you can refer back to it. GREAT BECAUSE: there's always something to be grateful for, no matter how hard things get. Noticing this can help the tough times feel a little easier to bear. It doesn't mean the hard times don't exist, it just reminds us that there's rainbows in amongst the dark clouds.

• Routine - in times of uncertainly and overwhelm, having a routine to stick to can be so very helpful. I'm not great at sticking to routine but when the overwhelm strikes, boy oh boy can it help to know there's that predictable pattern providing you with some structure and a safe place to land when everything is going tits-up. GREAT BECAUSE: structure can provide a safety net and something predictable and familiar to cling to. As long as you don't let it get so rigid that it takes away your ability to be spontaneous, a solid structure can be reassuring in the short term while you deal with periods of upheaval.

• Mindful Eating and Drinking - the simplest form of mindfulness is just noticing yourself in the moment. Maybe try to eat a meal without watching TV (or any other screen) - leave your phone to one side and notice every mouthful of food. Chew mindfully: notice the taste, texture and temperarture of the food. Swallow with intention. Allow the food to consciously nourish your body and offer it gratitude with every bite. Prepare your morning drink with mondful awareness. Notice the swirl of the steam rising from the kettle, notice the colur of your juice, the wonderful smell of your coffee before you take a sip. Notice the patterns of your cup and the coldness of the spoon in your fingertips. Offer gratitude to the water as you pour. GREAT BECAUSE: it stops you rushing your food, helping your digestion, and it gives you a break form your phone, offering your mind a little reset.

• Gentle Movement or Stretching - obviously I'm a huge fan of this! But a little bit of gentle movement every day: yoga, pilates, walking, taichi or qigong, mindful stretching - or whatever type of movement you like to do - can bring your awareness into your body and give you the chance to release stress and tension before it builds up to problematic levels. If you join a movement class, you get the added bonus of a shared experience with other folks who may feel the same way you do, helping you foster a sense of belonging and keeping loneliness at bay. GREAT BECAUSE: as well as helping mitigate mental stress, it does your physical body good, too!

• Time Spent in or near Nature - probably one of the best ways to relieve the symptoms of stress is simply getting outside for a bit. Even a few minutes of mindful awareness in a garden, park or any green space, has proven benefits on the human mind. In Japan, the practice of Shirin Yoku (loosely translated to "forest bathing") is often prescribed by doctors for those suffering with stress. If you really can't get outside for any reason, even looking out of the window towards trees and flowers or sitting in a place filled with houseplants can help. GREAT BECAUSE: Nature is lovely and fresh air is good for you!

• Journaling - writing down your thoughts is a good way to slow down the mind and get your head straight. When all those thinsg are swirling around in your head, it's near-impossible to focus your mind on anything. Writing by hand is, neurologically speaking, a fine tool for linking body and mind, thought to movement. This might be just the thing to help you arrange your thinking into material you can use. GREAT BECAUSE: writing it down not only means you can refer back to it if you forget something, it's a fab way to track your progress in life. by being able to look back when you need to or want to, you can remember how or when stuff happened and keep treasured memories safe.

• Lists - this is a funny one because not everyone copes well with a to do list but a good friend of mine swears by this method. On a Sunday night, she sits and makes a list of all her commitments for the coming week. It wrks a little bit like the "routine" idea, where it means you have a solid foundation to build around. You know what you have to do so you can plan accordingly. It also means that when something unexpected pops up, you can find a space to put it that won't disrupt your schedule too much. GREAT BECAUSE: you may feel a sense of achievement in ticking things off the list and the fact of having a list means you don't have to worry about forgetting to do anything, especially if you get overwhelmed easily and tend to let things slip through the net when there's too much to do.

• Spending time with Trusted Friends and Loved-Ones - there's nothing like spending some time with your best friend. They don't say "a problem shared is a problem halved" for nothing. If you have someone you can trust to constructively vent to for a little while, that can really help your stress levels, by just getting it off your chest. Remember, you're not a burden! The person you're talking to doesn't have to take on the energy of your rant, they can just be a sounding board. Find someone who isn't going to try and "fix" your problem or offer advice, someone who will simply sit and listen as you offload your worries. Good friends want to be there for you just as they know you are for them. And if that's not needed, just being with someone else and having FUN is amazing. Laughter is a great stress-reliever - so grab your funniest pals and go laughing! GREAT BECAUSE: human connection is the one. It takes a village!

  
  

BONUS TIP:

ACCEPTANCE & SURRENDER - Sometimes you just cannot change or control the situation you're in. When this happens, you could maybe try to change your viewpoint to prioritize the things you are able to change or control and let the rest go. Once you accept the concept of surrender, and find a way to be ok with things not being perfectly as you want them to be, this can make your life a whole lot easier.

However, there are times when this applies and there are times when it's right to fight harder - and wisdom comes from knowing which approach to apply and when.

It's not easy! I never promised it would be. But there are times when we have no choice but to accept things as they are and surrender to the flow of life. Sometimes, your peace is more important than perfection.

Whatever your stress is, I hope some of these solutions might be able to help you...

Do you have a tried and tested way to deal with stress? What do you think of my suggestions? Let me know! Love you loads,

Cheryl xxx