June is the month of changes! Exams, moves, change of job, child leaving the family cocoon… And who says change, says stress!
Whatever the change, small or large, there is a more or less significant impact at the psychological, mental, physiological and physical level on the person depending on their ability to manage stress. It is important to understand the effects on our health during periods of change, to know how to manage them, to adapt and how to maintain a more relaxed and healthy life in these times.
Therefore, you must take care of yourself above all in order to remain physically and emotionally available, effective in better helping, reassuring and giving confidence to those close to you.
But then how to combine everything?
STRESS IS NECESSARY BUT BE CAREFUL!
Stress is necessary and beneficial to move forward and allow us to flourish on our life path. Some changes are positive, happy and rewarding, but others are “negative”, disruptive and are generally endured!
Stress will be more or less easy to manage. It can lead to more constant or stronger levels of stress with effects on our health. Indeed our body and our self will implement all kinds of natural reactions in response to stress, to adapt to situations and allow us to adjust physiologically, emotionally and physically to understand this new emotional environment.
The effects of stress on the body
A person’s state of homeostasis is the balance of all natural phenomena in their body in coordination with the mind: heart rate, breathing, sweating, digestion, body temperature, and blood composition all together. Regulatory phenomena are linked to the appropriate production of hormones secreted by the different glands of the human body as well as their transport, circulation and dissemination of information by the nervous system and all other systems of the body.
For example, when you receive a threat, your body will protect or adapt through autonomic responses, releasing chemicals and hormones, such as cortisol and adrenaline to allow you to prepare to the reflex reaction of protection or survival: “Fight” or “flight”.
The answers will be: elevation of heart rate and breathing, suppression or slowing of the digestive tract, acceleration of blood circulation. Ideally, once the effects of the threat have worn off, hormones and chemicals will return to a balance that allows your body to return to its omeostasis state.
Each person reacts differently to change: while some people adapt quickly, others may have more difficulty coping with a disturbed emotional state and feeling:
- frequent pain and headaches
- palpitations, anxiety
- mood changes and irritability
- change in appetite (loss or cravings or even bulimia)
- inability to relax and recover, sleep problems
- lack of concentration, forgetfulness or memory problems
- procrastination, avoidance of decision-making or sociability
UNDERSTAND AND MITIGATE THE EFFECTS OF STRESS LINKED TO CHANGE
First of all: Always remember, that if you are stressed, your state will spill over to those close to you because emotional permeability works both ways.
Since your goal is that everything goes well for the people you care about, accept that it’s not being selfish if you allow yourself a little “breathing time.” Know that this will make it easier for you to adapt to change. By having visibility of your potential and your limits, you will have the real possibility of influencing the responses that your body will make to the changes.
1: Create an action plan with steps
How are you going to anticipate? How to “prepare instead of worrying”, prevent rather than cure?
Stay present in the moment and look toward the future with reasonable goals, choosing your priorities and creating a series of steps to move from one situation to one goal and then to another. You will feel more in control of the situation, which will help reduce uncertainty, alleviate concerns about the unknown associated with future change and therefore reduce your stress levels.
2: Take care of your physical health
Go for a walk or run or swim at your own pace for your enjoyment. BREATHE. Use relaxation techniques such as deep breathing or meditation, yoga…
Prefer healthy meals but continue to take time, enjoy eating and savor the tastes. Avoid frustration which is stress.
Limit the consumption of caffeine and alcohol, which used in moderation can provide comfort or support but only for a given time. If the amounts or frequencies increase the effects of stress will provide other chemical imbalances in your body, this would then involve additional physiological stress that you want to minimize.
3: Use your social network
This is essential in the fight against stress. Do not hesitate to ask for advice or support from your network: friends, family, colleagues, or within volunteer activities, the community and hobbies.
There are always people who care for others and help with listening and understanding of being through these phases. As long as you tell them your needs…
Sometimes it is also enough to simply invite someone to share a moment and talk about everything you want to release: your apprehensions, fears, worries, difficulties, worries, problems! Expressing things is an outlet and we often find a solution when we talk about it.
4: Leave some time to relax and sleep.
Sleeping, recovering, increases your dopamine levels (for motivation) and serotonin (hormone of satisfaction and pleasure). They both aim to fight against the production of cortisol, the level of which increases in the event of stress. Therefore, take the time to pause, breathe, relax. Even if time is limited, it is important to do breathing (physical and symbolic) in order to maintain efficiency.
5: Treat yourself to pleasant and fun moments
Listen to music that relaxes you: classical, ambient or rock, depending on your taste above all.
Keep the hobbies and activities you enjoy, even if it’s just for a few minutes. This will relax you and free your brain from all the ideas that invade and bring confusion.
LAUGH! Laughter brings great power of rapid and effective relaxation. It brings good humor, stimulates the immune system, allows you to put things into perspective and approach things with a different perspective.
Watch funny movies or comedy plays.
Find friends who make you laugh! Practice LAUGHTER YOGA.
6: Allow yourself professional care.
If you are in panic mode: do you feel stuck, anxious, overwhelmed? You do not know where to start ? So don’t hesitate to buy wellness treatments from professionals to help you. Remember again that if you want to take care of those you love, you must be confident, healthy and available.
There are of course many chemical medicated solutions, but know that gentle and natural methods such as kinesiology, Reiki, EFT, massages, laughter yoga are very effective in helping you balance your energy and less harmful to your organism.
HOW CAN I SUPPORT YOU?
I have personally experienced several moves and changes in my life. I have always been keen to work to help others settle into their new place, like now with energy care. My long experience in Asia, particularly in Hong Kong, has allowed me to discover, learn and practice methods that help harmonize the body’s energy so that it is in homeostasis. Thanks to my listening and my empathy, I help people to relieve and eliminate their pain and above all to support them, guide them and accompany them in their life change and to maintain or regain confidence in themselves.
During a session, you will obtain triple expertise: kinesiology, EFT and Reiki to balance your energy and feel in harmony, ready for your new adventure.
KINESIOLOGY: thanks to muscle testing, you can understand and determine the exact origin of your symptom, whether physical (pain), energy (nervous or apathetic state) or mental (confusion or loss of memorization or lack of interest). I will help you release blockages to permanently eliminate symptoms and allow you to approach your daily life in a more peaceful and relevant way.
REIKI is a very effective Japanese practice for working on energy balance by placing the hands on or above different parts of the body. We immediately feel a sensation of relaxation or tonicity depending on the person’s needs.
EFT is also a method that allows you to express your feelings, your pain, your fears and your apprehensions. By verbalizing them we express them, we reveal them and we free ourselves from them.
Do not hesitate to make an appointment with Cecile Thomas on 07 66 40 45 88 or by e-mail: [email protected]
