When there's no where to run.
Julie began her trek home. She was hyper aware of how late it was. She never realized how dark it really got at 1am. It was eerily quiet downtown tonight too.
An unfortunate chain of events kept her out late when her unreliable 2006 Chevy Optra decided that downtown Hamilton was a good place to die. Her cellphone met a similar fate just half an hour before.
She knew her apartment would only be a 15 minute walk so she embarked on the streets she knew well, but she kept wondering why it was so quiet. Could someone be lurking around the corner, waiting for her to walk by and attack her? Wait, are those footsteps behind her? Was it a sign that her car and her phone both “died”?
She quickened her pace and she felt her breathing get more and more shallow. All she wanted was to get in her front door.
Keep reading to find out what Julie could do to help her with lowering stress in the moment and get home in harmony.
This story of Julie’s walk home illustrates the fight-or-flight response in action. There was nothing specifically happening, other than the thoughts running through her mind to create this state.
The “what if’s” she's coming up with turn into mini shock waves running through Julie’s body.
This is similar to the stress we find ourselves in when the boss unexpectedly calls an impromptu one to one meeting. Or when you’re talking to your aging mother over the phone and you hear her collapse to the floor. Or even when you get a call from your daughter that she’s just eaten something she’s had before but now she’s breaking out into hives, her face is swelling and she’s 374 km away.
Just think of all the “what if’s” in these scenarios!
The thoughts running through your mind during these events will raise your stress level and affect the harmony between your body, mind and soul.
Your body immediately works to support you by releasing “stress hormones” known as adrenaline and cortisol. These hormones give you a burst of energy, elevated heart rate, a quickened breathing rate and increased blood pressure.
All to help you survive the event.
When you feel your body signalling stress and there’s nowhere to run, what happens to all that adrenaline?
Oftentimes, we don’t do anything other than walk to the boss’ office, or call an ambulance for your mother, or drive to your daughter in the hopes she gets herself to the hospital first.
None of this tells your nervous system to settle down. In fact, your mind is still racing with "what if's".
All that energy ends up getting suppressed, held within the body and leads to chronic stress which is linked to high blood pressure, clogged arteries, anxiety, depression, addictive behaviours, and obesity.
What Can Julie Do In the Moment?
The easiest and most readily available thing Julie could do for lowering stress in the moment is to start with her breath. Focusing on her breath will immediately divert her attention away from her “what if” thoughts.
Then, with conscious intention, practicing specific breathing techniques will tell the nervous system to relax and ease the cortisol levels coursing through her body. She’ll then feel an overall sense of calm, bringing her body, mind and soul back into balance from the effects of stress. (You’ll learn exactly how to do this in my program, “Harmonized Living™ A Program to Break Stress Patterns and Create More Time For You!”)
Here’s the thing, your breath has a direct influence on your endocrine system, which regulates hormones, including cortisol.
When you begin consciously using your breath, you activate your vagus nerve to communicate calmness to the rest of your body. Your body settles down and lowers your heart rate.
The practice of conscious breathing, or intentional breathing, uses methods developed over centuries, with roots in various different cultural traditions.
By using your breath, you can shift your body from a state of fight-or-flight to rest-and-digest where you can find your equilibrium again - harmony.
(You’ll have plenty of opportunities to practice this in my program.)
Imagine having these tools for lowering stress in the moment at your fingertips!
You can save yourself from health issues and gain so much time and energy so you can love your way through life.
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