Countering Cumulative Stress After the Holidays
Let's talk about cumulative stress.
Anyone else return to work this week feeling a bit lighter and more energized than how you felt before (or possibly during) the holiday “break?” I want to pause and reflect on that before-and-after feeling with a focus on your stress level.
We often talk about stress in a static way: the tension in our bodies, the crowded or racing thoughts, the feelings of pressure and overwhelm (know what I'm talking about?).
It's also important to consider that this stress accumulates. As this happens we habituate--or get used-- to the new high level of stress as our norm. We stop even noticing it despite it continuing to impact us in many ways that can include:
😣 Sleep disturbance
😣 Low mood
😣 Difficulty concentrating
😣 Irritability
😣 And a myriad of physical symptoms (headaches, muscle tension, decreased or increased appetite….)
Then we struggle to get a grasp on addressing these things. Sometimes we get so accustomed to the higher level of stress that we have trouble tolerating down regulation– feelings of calm or relaxation.
As an example– last fall I started working, as a client, one-on-one with a wonderful Yoga Therapist. The first homework assignment that she gave me was to practice one set of 5 three-part breaths in order to help my nervous system relax. I could do it easily when she led me through it, but when I went to do it by myself at home, my body said NOPE.
And I didn’t do my homework.
Aside from the minor shame I felt for not doing what I was supposed to, I also felt fortunate to be able to recognize what this nope was: evidence that I did in fact need support to help me increase my tolerance for even small movements towards a new level of down regulation.
Yes. Even therapists habituate to high levels of stress and need help with it sometimes.
Only after a legitimate break and/or targeted support that actually allows our nervous system to reset and down regulate can we have that AHA! moment.
That moment that causes us to wonder how it might be possible to maintain more ease and space in our lives. Our bodies need the chance to remember what that actually feels like.
And it's not to say there's no stress once we've down-regulated. Many of us also faced a crash landing back to work this week. It's that we may be handling return-to-work stressors differently.
✨Perhaps we have a tad more patience.
✨Perhaps our mood is a little lighter.
✨We may feel more creative and flexible.
All signs of lower cumulative stress.
It is critically important to return to the question of: how do I sustain a lower baseline of stress than what I felt pre-break?
Our world is always ready to pull us into higher stress states. We must focus on countering that for our overall well-being and quality of life.
Because the truth is, we are worth it and the world actually needs us to slow down.
A big part of the therapy and coaching work that I do involves teaching people about the relationship between our experiences with stress and its impacts on our nervous system. I then teach focused, accessible, and easily applicable strategies that we can use in our daily lives to achieve and maintain a lower baseline of stress.
Sending you all my best in this New Year,
Dr. Rebecca Cohen
