The stress response is an awesome mechanism, built in and ready to use in order to keep us safe. However, it was constructed to be used for short term stress events such as flee from a tiger or fight a rival tribe member in order to survive. If we survived we would “shake the stress off” and our nervous system would re-balance itself, like clock work!
Today the stress factors we are facing might be less obvious than a growling tiger or a rival tribe member with a blunt weapon, ready to smash us to pieces. Instead it shows up as as a constant worry or “sneaky feeling” that something is not quite right.
The tiger is no longer a tiger, but a stack of bills that need to be paid; a fast approaching project dead line that has to be kept; a realisation that the time has come to find a loving care home for our elderly parent.
The weapon waving opponent shows up as an urgent need to find the right support for our kid that is struggling in school; or as a fear that we won’t be able to handle the medical diagnosis we got after our last check up. Maybe even all of the above at the same time!
The bottled up stress starts showing up as a constant headache, an annoying pain in the lower back, an increasingly tense neck that won’t budge no matter how many massages you take, or an urge to stuff uncomfortable emotions with food (often the sweet or savoury “un-healthy” kind).
Unfortunately us humans don’t come with an Apple Cloud or Dropbox function, where we can just store all our past, present and future worries and unresolved emotions so we don’t have to look at them ever again.
We only have our bodies as storage space for all our unresolved emotions and traumas (big and small), and when that data storage is running low, we end up with physical, sometimes chronic, aches and pains.
So how can we help our bodies to “empty” some of the old files so we get more storage back?
There are plenty of readily available, and very cost effective options at hand.
- Journaling about your experiences has proven to help resolve emotional stress, and you only need to do it for a few minutes a day for it to be effective!
- Gratitude journal – yes, it might sound silly and even too esoteric, but studies have shown that writing down things that you are grateful for in your life, or things that you did well that day, will help you feel more hopeful and able to find solutions.
- Do some sports, even go for a walk outside in nature 8or around the block), has proven time and time again to be effective in treating both physical pain and depression. And if you add the company of a friend (at 2 meters distance, of course), even better!
- Reaching out and offering support to someone you know is struggling will benefit both the other person, and at the same time benefit your mental health in a remarkable way!
- Meditation and mindfulness are wonderful practices that help you calm your nervous system and lower stress.
- And if you are like me and too restless to sit down in meditation, EFT tapping is the best resource to have at hand (or at your fingertips!). EFT has proven benefits on reducing cortisol (one of the stress hormones) and relaxing both your body and your thoughts.
Know that there is hope, and there are many ways to address the stress so it doesn’t control you. Instead of feeling defeated by it, ask the stress or the pain in what way it’s trying to signal to you that it’s time to change something in your life 
You have more power and resilience than you think!
I believe in you!
P.S. ALWAYS reach out to a medical professional if you have physical symptoms that won’t resolve, or if you have trouble with mental health issues. ALWAYS!!