Stress: Don’t Let Your Trash Pile Up!

“Stress is the trash of modern life-we all generate it but if you don’t dispose of it properly, it will pile up and overtake your life.”  Danzae Pace

South African man dressed in business casual attire sitting with his head in his hands under a bridge.

Thoughts for today, National Stress Awareness Day:

Just like the trashcan inside your home, you can’t continue to stuff garbage in it without eventually emptying it. Some of us generate more waste than others. This is an accurate analogy for stress. And if you’ve ever watched that TV show, “Hoarders”, you know what accumulated garbage can do to a person’s life!

Stress also can accumulate little by little so you don’t notice until it has taken over. Sometimes, we all let the pace of this modern life infringe on time that we should be taking for self-care (READ: stress relief!) Sneaky symptoms start to show up and we attribute the tight neck to a bad night’s sleep (when that poor sleep could be a sign of chronic stress itself) or the appearance of acne to foods we ate and so on.

Do you have a plan to ‘dispose’ of this type of trash and empty your ‘stress trashcan’?  It’s all about being aware that stress, or your reaction to it, is not meant to become a chronic condition. Sure, the stress response gives you a boost of energy to get things done. In some instances, it actually is a survival mechanism when you call are able to tap into the adrenalin rush in a true ‘fight or flight’ situation. Immediately after, though, your body needs to rest, relax, recharge and restore to a normal energy state. You get into trouble when you ignore that need to restore and rejuvenate body and mind.

Life in the modern world is stressful. Acute and chronic stress is the result. Beginning a conscious, regular practice to reduce your stress hormones, restore your energy, and renew the body for the next day is not a luxury. It’s a necessity. This is how you’re able to dispose of your stress trash and empty that stress trashcan.

Some examples of activities that when done regularly (read that daily!) will help you empty your stress trashcan:

• Meditation
• Mindfulness
• Positive self-talk
• Deep breathing exercises
• Regular physical exercise
• Control vs. no-control exercises (hint: let go of those things that are not within your control)
• Regular sleep patterns and adequate hours in the sack!

To get you started, enjoy this breathing exercise, courtesy of Certified Personal Trainer and Health Coach and 500 RYT Annick Masseteau :

What does your stress trashcan look like these days? Is it overflowing or regularly emptied without effort?

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