My day started with a healthy to-do list and great intentions, but as I started powering through my head started stressing about "ALL THE OTHER THINGS" I wasn't doing. I could slowly recognize that tight feeling of #anxiety creeping into my chest. What I did next really helped me turn things around.....
Stress and Anxiety are so common these days, but I find that the way we treat our bodies and what we put into them are often overlooked in the connection to the signs and symptoms to stress and anxiety. Did you know that your gut is often called your "second brain"? This is because your "ENS" (Enteric Nervous System) in your gut communicates directly with your brain #gutbrainconnection Your gut can effect your body and brain, think about the last time you were stressed or anxious did you feel sick to your stomach or butterflies in there? Did you also know that 95% of your serotonin (a neurotransmitter for your Central Nervous System and a "happy hormone") is produced in your gut?
“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food!” - Hippocrates
When I orginally sat down to write this post it was started off being about Cholesterol and Fats and as I started to write, my "to-do" list for the rest of the day was in the back of my head and now the weeks list was also making itself known. Pretty soon all I could think about was all the things that I WOULDN'T be getting down, how many things I was doing WRONG, and that there was no point in continuing what I was doing because it would be no good and I wouldn't get it done anyways! I could my chest and stomach getting heavy and a few tears starting to build up. I don't know about anyone else's anxiety but when mine often shows up in the form of fear and "not being good enough".
"My day could've gone completely sideways from here, but a few simple action steps really helped calm me and my nervous system"
Not going to lie I let those tears out and probably sat there for a couple minutes contemplating closing my laptop crawling under my blankets and not coming out until the next day, but I didn't! While I was taking those few minutes to let the tears out, I realized that most of what was going on was in my head and that I could use a little help. Also, that I had been mindlessly snacking on chocolate chips and probably didn't need the extra cup of coffee I had. So, I messaged my boyfriend to say "I'm having a rough day and about to make myself a cup of tea and have an orange, could you help me walk my Buster (my dog) after work?".
This did 2 things for me:
It helped me take a little pressure off myself by telling someone else that I was struggling and also let me know that I could get help with things on my "to-do" list.
The fact that I was telling someone about my tea and orange was really just for me to hold myself accountable to me that I needed to do something to nourish my body.
Sometimes just saying something to another person helps more than we think it could, but often feel silly or ashamed to let other people know "SUPRISE" we can't do everything on our own!
"I thought this post was about soup?!.... This is the part where I talk about the soup"
After my tea and orange, I actually took Buster out for a walk and it felt really good to get some fresh air and as I was walking I took into consideration that I did have a REALLY busy week ahead and I needed to make sure that I was taking care of not only my mental health but also my phycial health as well. To me these two things go hand in hand with each other. I don't know about anyone else, but the thought of coming home every night and figuring out what do make for dinner our prepare for lunches can be a lot! So when I got back home I decided to make a butternut squash soup (this is because it was the simplest thing to make with all the ingredients I already had in my house) I could have it for dinner and pop it in the fridge to have during the week!
This is where the whole #gutbrainconnection all ties back in.
When your body is nourished and has the proper nutrients it's systems, such as the nervous system, can function a little more clearly and when your nervous system is functioning properly the rest of you body tends to follow.
I decided to share this story because I think that it is important to talk about the fact today most of us put so much pressure on ourselves to do everything perfectly and that there's something wrong if we ask for help or make some mistakes along the way. Please remember we are #ONLYHUMAN!
When times of stress or anxiety come up, try to have some tricks up your sleve to help ease the situation and make you feel a little more grounded and balanced.
If when you were reading this story it all sounded a little too familiar, feel free to click the button below and book a FREE 15 minute Discovery Call to see if working together could help you feel a little more balanced!