Episode 2: Understanding Stress; Reactions, Impact, and Pathways to Balance

Episode 2: Understanding Stress; Reactions, Impact, and Pathways to Balance- Transcript

 Hello and welcome to the Body Rhythm Podcast. On today's episode, we are diving into all things stress related, our unique ways that we react to stress. How our reactions show us how we're out of balance and then provide unique ways for each of us to get back into balance

so stress is how our bodies respond to tension, respond to pressure. It is a normal reaction. It's how the body reacts to dangerous situations, to changing life events. Stress causes feelings of unease, anxiety, frustration. Nervousness, fearfulness, helplessness. When we're stressed, we might notice changes in our sleep, in our digestion, in energy levels.

Over time, if we don't bring the stress response back into balance, after the initial stressor has passed, it begins to disconnect us from the body. And the mind and this disconnection prevents us from moving from the trauma vortex into the healing vortex.

There are two types of stress, acute stress, which is stress that happens in response to a specific. Trigger. And then when the trigger is gone, hopefully we're able to let it go and return back to our balanced state. Chronic stress is a consistent feeling of being overwhelmed and pressured over a long period of time. And symptoms of chronic stress include aches and pains, insomnia, weakness, less socialization, unfocused thinking, chronic stress. Impacts our bodily systems. It impacts digestion, reproduction, elimination, growth and repair, and our lymphatic system. So our central nervous system really is attuned to. Dealing with what is happening in our everyday life. It plays a role, in hormone balance, menstruation, [00:03:00] menopause.

 Over time, when we're feeling chronically stressed, when the central nervous system is on overload, , typically we will notice symptoms first in digestion and in the mind.

So the sympathetic nervous system is really what we're talking about here , and it is that fight, flight, freeze response and fight response might look like anger, irritability, frustration, the intense fierceness in response to chronic stress.

 And flight might look like distraction. I'm gonna go do this thing. I'm gonna take up this hobby. I'm gonna go out with my friends over here, and then I'm gonna start this project. And we're really kind of disconnecting [00:04:00] from the stress through putting our attention on all of these different things and freeze mode.

It is really when we can't do it anymore, its disassociation from what's happening to our bodies, what's happening to our mind. It might be laying in bed all day. It might be withdrawing from people, friends, situations. And when we get to that freeze mode is really where we need to start paying attention and beginning to take a look at what is really happening here. 

 The central nervous system wants homeostasis. It wants to be balanced, but usually we override the attempts of the [00:05:00] central nervous system to be balanced. We drink coffee to overcome, uh, our sleeplessness.

 Our body is saying we need rest, and we are telling it. No, we have to keep doing, we have to keep accomplishing. So we continually override the central nervous systems attempts at homeostasis, and we take it further and further away from the balance state., and this leads us to doing things that are against what we're truly wanting for ourselves.

Right? We're not. Listening to what the body is saying, we're listening to what the mind is saying, right? The mind kind of has taken over and begins to disconnect us from what's happening in our bodies. But it's important to know that no matter  where we are in our journey in life that our nervous systems aren't broken. Our nervous system is not meant to be judged. Our nervous system is telling us what is going on and. It is telling us, Hey, something isn't right here. Please pay attention to me. Please bring me back into balance.

And I think that so many of us kind of get into this, um, pattern of. Okay. I'm not sleeping. What do I have to do? Oh, I don't feel well. I'm not resting. I, um, I'm doing too much. I'm feeling overwhelmed, but I can't take a break. I can't slow down. I have to keep going. Uh, we get into this pattern of [00:07:00] more, more, more, more, more, and the mind just kind of takes over.

The body. The body is sending out signals that something isn't right here. We might notice it in bloating or gas or digestion or dry skin toe , and we don't connect this to something is going on in.

The nervous system. You know, the ancients used to say that we inherit our mother's nervous system, which if you think about it, is a really beautiful thing. But also it can be really scary because what if our mothers had a nervous system that was. A prone to really going out of balance was prone to having anxiety or prone to having anger and frustration.

It just shows us that we really have to be tender with ourselves. I think, you know, when we begin to have problems with the nervous system, when everything in the body seems to be going out of whack, we are having problems with the hormones, we're having problems with our relationships, we are having problems sleeping.

It can be really hard to have. Compassion for ourselves to be gentle with ourselves because we think, Hey, we're doing something wrong, we just have to learn to pay a little bit more attention to what's happening so we can begin to bring in tools and practices.

To calm the nervous system and to begin to bring the mind and the body back into balance. We want to bring balance to the nervous system so we can begin to harness a sense of safety., when we begin to [00:09:00] regulate the nervous system , we're beginning to tell the body that, hey, things are safe.

There's no more danger that you have to deal with. And safety really is the basis for all healing. When we are living in a state of constant stress, of chronic stress, we feel anxious, we might begin to feel shut down. The body might experience illness in times of chaos, we become more rigid, more unable to move.

And you might notice for me especially tension in the shoulders and the neck, maybe in the hips and the low back, and that is our nervous system moving into freeze mode, that rigidity mode.

What is unique about our nervous system is that it is the one thing that we can't. Do surgery on, there is no surgical procedure out there for trauma, and that means that we have to do the work ourselves. And that can be really scary because that involves doing emotional processing to really look at what is happening in our bodies and really saying, let me take it in.

Let me digest the experience and then let it go. And we only are able to do this when we are balancing the nervous system, when we are beginning to create that sense of safety in the body.

And what is healing? Well, healing is our capacity to notice that [00:11:00] you matter, that you are special, healing is the ability to let yourself be nourished, nourished by all of your senses. It's the ability to allow yourself to relax. It's the ability to allow yourself to rest. And that can be really scary, especially if we, have been living with chronic stress over extended amounts of time.

There is comfort and that feeling of kind of always being on right. And when we slow down, that invites us to look inwards, to really feel what's happening to. Feel more fully the disconnection between the mind and the body, and that can be really scary.

Can we allow ourselves the opportunity to feel relaxed, to feel rested? I mean, what would that mean if you were able to do that?

If we don't deal with. What's happening underneath the stress with the emotions that we've been pushing down for days or months or years. Those thoughts and those feelings get pushed into the space between the cells of the connective tissue, and they kind of just linger there.

 They, lie dormant and then we put new stressors on top and they get pushed down into the space of the cells and the connective tissue. And then we put new stressors on top that we haven't dealt with until years might go by and then we're suffering from digestive issues. IBS, heartburn, autoimmune diseases, inflammation, inability to sleep, relationships that aren't going well.

Right, and modern science would probably treat all of these conditions individually just looking at the symptoms. So treating the symptom of the IBS, treating the symptom of insomnia, maybe with a prescription, but Ayurveda really takes the approach of what is the root cause. What is happening underneath the surface that hasn't been dealt with, and ultimately, the healing comes in bringing those emotions from the deep layers of the connective tissue up from the subconscious to the conscious [00:14:00] and beginning to deal with them.

To do the emotional processing that is where the healing happens. So what are some simple ways to begin to do that? And one that I really love is just putting the hand on the heart. And beginning to feel how the fingertips feel on the skin. Noticing the pressure of each finger, noticing if it's a light touch,

maybe the touch has a little bit more force behind it.

And telling yourself, beloved, I am safe. I am okay,

beloved. I am safe. And I am okay.

So there are three types of. Stress styles. One I call the ethereal stress style, the light and [00:15:00] airy stress style, and this stress style is more going to be that flight reaction. This stress style is really. Um, more prone to anxiety and restlessness, nervousness, uh, fearfulness. If the stressors aren't addressed, then feelings of overwhelm tend to take over and the stress style tends to shut down at that point. To avoid. The feeling of stress or having to deal with the stress. This ethereal stress style really pushes those feelings down so they don't have to be addressed and then moves into distraction mode.

 What's really beautiful about this dress style is. [00:16:00] These are the types of people that are creatives.

They are visionaries. They have enthusiasm for life. The friends know them as a person that they can always come to for new ideas, trying out, new things, new projects.

So making connections with the mind and the body out in nature is really important to put the hand on the heart or in times of stress, and feeling that connection with the body can be really beneficial for this stress type. The ethereal stress styles really benefit from. Creating a set routine routines make it easier for this type of stress style not to get distracted. It keeps the nervous system from going astray, and actually it brings calm to the nervous system.

The next stress type is what I call fierce, and it is that fiery response. It is that anger, irritability, need for control, and those qualities really come to the forefront when this stress style is under chronic stress. Friends and family know to stay out of your way.

'cause the trigger is short. These are the type A people, the ones who are always kind of in get it done mode, who don't fall asleep before midnight. The mind is always on. And intense. This stress style though tends to be really discerning.

These are the stress styles that cut through the bullshit. Their the ones that get the problems solved and there and get it done Now. And their friends know this is a person to call when things need to get done. Maybe you're planning your friend's group trip, um, but it's really important for these fierce, or this would be the fight reaction to spend time doing activities that feel good.

Not activities that are on the to-do list because I know I should be doing them because I've been told that they're good for me. But activities that feel good,

 The fierce stress style probably is naturally drawn to. Vinyasa style yoga [00:19:00] classes, hot yoga classes, endurance sports, right? These are all activities that are kind of, um, get it done activities, but it can be easy to burn out when we're doing these, right? When we have a big fire and we are doing all the things, it can be easy to burn out. And crash. And so for the fierce stress style, it's just really important to pay attention to where the body is and not push too much. You wanna be challenged, but you wanna make sure that you're not creeping into burnout. Earn out. So make time to do something that you love and maybe a slower. Flow class, maybe a bike ride out in nature would help bring more regulation to the nervous system, [00:20:00] more rest and relaxation to the nervous system.

 The third type of stress style is what I call stable, this stress style. Tends to be not as reactionary or up and down as the other stressed styles. This stress style tends to withdraw and isolate under chronic stress, isolate from friends, family. Um, this stress style tends to want to be alone to contemplate.

Problems or issues, and this stress style might insulate themselves with food and sleep.

This stress style tends to be more mellow and quiet, tends to stay in jobs and homes and relationships for long periods of time and more hesitant to change. 

And for this stress style, it's important to spend time doing activities that move the whole body, spending time outdoors, listening to the sounds of nature. Reminding yourself that you're not alone, that you're surrounded by all that the universe, by all that God has given you. Something that gets the body moving and sweating would be really great to bring the nervous system back into balance. This stress style tends to be more on the freeze side.

 I've created a quiz so you can find your unique stress style, how you uniquely respond to stress, how do you recognize the signs when the nervous system is out of balance, and how can you begin to [00:22:00] bring the nervous system back into balance so that you can feel more in tune with your body rhythm so that the mind and the body feel more connected

I think it's important to know that as we move throughout our day, our reactions to stress,

not something that needs to be judged, I think we spend so much time judging in this world. We judge our reactions. We are judging other people's reactions,

I mean, we're all gonna deal with stress in our life. Um, work stress, relationship stress, dangerous stress. I mean, that is the life experience. And so. We really just want to be able to create a life, a body rhythm that we can recognize, hey, something's not right here. It's not feeling good. I wanna feel better, and how can I do that?

How can I make that happen? And recognizing our unique stress styles, the unique ways that we react to stress is a first step to healing. And when the nervous system begins to come back into balance, is when we begin to create that sense of safety, and then that's when we begin to heal

thank you all for joining me on this episode of. The body rhythm, and I wish you a wonderful rest of your week. Be well and nourished.