I ended up getting ducks during the pandemic. Yep, quack quack, 2 very cute little ducklings.
I’m usually very good at saying ‘no’ when my young daughter gives me the puppy eyes while asking for something that she promises to look after because I know that it’s going to be one more thing that I will have to care for after about day 2 of its arrival in our home. And I find as a solo parent, I’ve got enough to do with just the one kid, dog, house, work, life etc etc.
So, normally, I’m very good at saying no. I’m sensible. I have a realistic sense of how many hours are in day and how much extra time I don’t have! But you see, stress is a funny bugger. It can cause you to make poor choices.
Now that ducks were great and we did fall in love, but they required more time than I had, and more energy than I had arguing with my kid to get her to look after them. They ate my vegetable garden, trampled new plants, and the mess!!!! It was impressive!! And then they wouldn’t go into their bed at night and I was losing sleep (that I couldn’t afford) worrying they were going to end up as fox fodder, so, after a lot of tears (from my kid and me) they went to another loving home.
But the point here is that LONG TERM STRESS CAN CAUSE YOU TO MAKE BAD DECISIONS!!
High stress also causes high cortisol, and when this goes on for a while, it can lead to:
• inflammation
• altered bone metabolism
• muscle wasting
• increased fracture risk
• hypertension (high blood pressure)
• visceral obesity
• insulin resistance
We don’t want that do we?
A bit of stress can be good for us, but when it’s been at a high level, for a long time (looking at you stupid pandemic), we start to experience those negative effects. So what do we do?
Escaping to a warm beach location and leaving our work and families behind isn’t an option foreveryone (damn it!), but there are ways to manage our stress daily. Ways to return our poor overworked nervous systems to a state of calm.
• Physical Activity – walk, dance, shaking (while imagining your feet are grounding into the earth and you are releasing anything unneeded back to the earth)
• Breathing – with mindfulness
• Positive social interaction – even if it’s just with the barista
• Laughter – big belly laughs
• Affection – 6 sec kiss / 20 sec hug – though time doesn’t matter, it’s enough when you feel a shift
• Crying – without focusing on the story or what has made you cry – just focus on the tears and the physical act of crying.
All of these let your body know it’s safe and can relax. Find what works for you – you may need different strategies on different days. Also be aware that there may be a bit of a backlog of stress and that you will feel better incrementally.
So, do yourself a favour, and make stress management a part of your every day.
Don’t be like me and end up with ducks!