QUESTION: I can’t think straight when I’m stressed out. How can I centre myself?
DR. JESS: When we’re in a stressful moment, there is a release of stress hormones that are really intended to help us get out of a dangerous situation. It’s the fight-or-flight response. The body is flooded with the ability to get out of danger quickly, but most of us are not in those dangerous experiences daily – we’re in offices or we’re at home with family. But, you still have those stressful experiences come up. Your mind and body are experiencing the same reaction: “I have to get out of here!”
Simply removing yourself from that stressful or igniting event can be helpful. This gives your body time to relax and calm down.
So, if it’s possible, remove yourself from that stressful setting. If you’re in a meeting, you obviously can’t remove yourself, but you can certainly find a window of time in your day where you have a few moments to yourself. You’ll want to use those moments to reduce your stress overall. If you have access to nature, go outside and take a walk in that setting. If you’re in a more metropolitan area and that’s not available, still try to get outside to break up the tension of the experience you’re having.
Those stressful moments will pass, but if you’re not doing things to reduce your stress overall, you might begin to experience those stressful moments more often. Have a routine in place where you’re exercising regularly and eating a balanced diet. If you don’t have a therapist, you should have a support group that you are engaging with to help discharge some of those daily stressful experiences.
I think this is something we don’t think about a lot because we’re all constantly producing and thinking about work and performance, but it’s so important to have these stress-reducing activities already in place.
Learn more about Dr. Jess at her website, and follow her on Instagram.
