13/09/2025
🔥🔥Stress: Recognising It, Understanding It, and Learning to Release It
Stress is an essential part of life. Historically, it was our body’s way of keeping us safe — helping us fight, flee, or freeze in the face of danger. This primal survival response still lives in us today. But here's the challenge: our nervous system hasn’t evolved to distinguish between true danger and modern overwhelm — the constant demands of work, school, technology, and the pressure to keep going, doing, achieving.
The result? Chronic stress. And increasingly, burnout.
But you can take back control. It starts by recognising the signs of stress in your body — and learning how to come back to balance.
The Signs of Stress
* Shallow breathing: We shift from deep abdominal breathing to shallow chest breathing, which increases heart rate and blood pressure.
* Disconnection from the body: We become "heady" and disconnected from our physical sensations. Emotions — which are messengers of our needs — begin to feel overwhelming.
* Stress hormones surge: The body responds as if under threat, pumping out adrenaline and cortisol.
* Physical tension and sensory dullness: Headaches, tight shoulders, low back pain. We operate on autopilot. Life feels grey. Joy feels far away.
* Relationship strain: We may withdraw or lash out. Communication suffers. Our sense of connection — to others and to ourselves — fades.
* Weakened immunity and vitality: Our wellbeing slips out of alignment — physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.
What You Can Do to Help Yourself
Here are some gentle but powerful practices that can help regulate stress and reconnect you to yourself:
👉Establish a Routine
* Go to bed at the same time each night (ideally by 11pm).
* For at least 90 minutes before sleep, switch off screens and choose soothing activities: read, stretch, listen to music, take a bath.
👉Empty Your Mind
* If you wake at night replaying the day, write things down. List your unfinished tasks or thoughts. That way, they live on paper — not in your head.
👉Stay Consistent with Food & Water
* Eat meals at regular times. Avoid skipping meals or constant snacking.
* Stay hydrated — drink water throughout the day.
👉Reconnect with the World Around You
* Spend time outside. Fresh air, daylight, and nature are deeply grounding.
* Walk, garden, journal, listen to music — do something each day that reconnects you to your environment and inner world.
👉Breathe
Your breath is your greatest ally. It supports your nervous system, helps you anchor in the present, and reminds you of your inner stillness.
👌A simple daily practice:
1. Sit with your feet flat on the ground.
2. Place a hand on your abdomen.
3. Internally greet your senses: “Hello sounds... smells... taste... touch... air.”
4. Inhale and exhale slowly through your nose — like a trickle of water.
5. Let your breath fill your abdomen. Count each breath. Start with a count of 1. Over time, work up to 10 minutes of slow, mindful breathing — twice a day.
With regular practice, you’ll start to remember how to consciously relax — and support your own sense of inner peace.
Need support? We’re here for you. 💛 Life Rituals Clinic, Mill St, Oakham…..regain balance and equilibrium.
