How to look after yourself

I thought I would write an introduction into the stress response. Maybe you’ve heard of the flight , fight or freeze response but it can be helpful to think of your particular experience and what we can do to help. There’s so much to say but I hope that this information will be useful as a starting point and you can look at the links to further information I’ve provided.

Have a look at the info below and see which things you recognise in yourself. We can spend time in every zone at some point.

Things to note:

Red zone - is when we’re on high alert and in a survival response.

Amber zone - this isn’t the ok part! We can spend a lot of time in this zone and only realise when we have chronic symptoms.

Green zone - this is the ideal place to be

How often are you in the red and amber zones? Are there specific situations that trigger this response or is more of a constant feeling?

Helpful things to do:

Think of these symptoms as messages for you to be aware of what zone you’re in and what signals your brain is receiving.

It could be things in the present causing this reaction or it could be past experiences which you haven’t quite received the message to reset and go to the green zone.

If you notice yourself being in the red or amber zones then first thing to do is to calm your reptilian brain. Think of it as turning off the smoke alarm. The best way to do this is a physically - you can’t think your way out of panic or stress! (I’ve tried many times).

To complete the stress cycle you have two options:

Release - discharge the stress hormones of adrenaline and cortisol in your system

• Shaking it off 

• Stomping

• Exercise (in some but not all cases)

• Express it - cry, dance, sing, scream, write - let it out

Soothe - calm your nervous system by encouraging hormones serotonin and oxytocin.

• Grounding 

• Use 5 senses to

• Havening 

• Breathing

• Connecting to safety - a person, a place, a pet

• Asking for help - it might be easier to speak to someone more neutral

• Connecting back to yourself

• 20 second hug 

• Self-compassion

• Mindfulness

• Meditation

• Stimulating the vagus nerve

I’ve linked to more information on articles, meditations and videos.

I hope this has been useful as an introduction to the stress response.

If you’d like to chat through any of these points please book a chat with me.