Issue #39: Breaking Through the Stress Cycle
Leaning into what we need to let go of and making a plan for better prioritizing daily rest.
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Hey friend!
When I started this journey of intentionally moving past burnout, I've mentioned before that I struggled to figure out why I would always end up exhausted again. I’d rest for a couple of days or focus on tasks that felt more fun to me and as soon as I’d try to jump back into work, I would feel the stress and burnout literally crumble on top of me.
But eventually, I figured it out. Through therapy and my own research, the reason why I felt like I could never break free from burnout was because I wasn’t intentionally working daily to complete the stress cycle. While I would take short breaks here and there, I wasn’t making rest a daily priority in my life nor was I doing anything to eliminate the cause of the stress.
I was basically putting a bandaid on a gunshot wound and pretending like I was healed.🤷🏽♀️
WHAT IS THE STRESS CYCLE?
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, stress is the physical and mental response to an external cause. Stress can be caused by anything like preparing to speak in front of an audience or being close to missing an important deadline.
The stress cycle is a series of reactions that your body goes through due to heightened stress.
Research shows that the stress cycle has three stages:
Alarm: This is most known as the fight or flight response or how your body physically reacts when stress is introduced. Heavy breathing, sweating, raised blood pressure, etc.
Resistance: After the initial stress, your body begins to feel normal but remains on high alert until the threat is no longer an issue. While it’s meant to subside over time, if you’re constantly in a state of stress, your body will remain alert, affecting your quality of sleep, productivity, and overall concentration. It’s like your body is always on edge waiting for the next issue to happen.
Exhaustion: This is where we tend to experience serious burnout. If we’re constantly in the stress cycle, we don’t give ourselves enough time to fully recover. Which then leads to more serious issues like depression, anxiety, or severe fatigue.
Needless to say, if you’re constantly overworking yourself, staying in chaotic situations, or not setting proper boundaries, no matter how many “quick breaks” you take, you’re never going to be able to stop the stress cycle.
So what do you need to do instead?
First, reevaluate the situations that you may be in that are causing you constant stress. Are you in a job that causes you stress daily? Is your current business model causing more frustration than joy? What can you begin to change (even if slowly) to get yourself out of those stressful situations?
Next, prioritize daily rest 🙃. Getting adequate rest allows you to think with more clarity, gives your body the time it needs to heal, and for you to feel overall recharged. Not to mention when you’re getting more rest, you actually have the capacity to be able to better handle those stressful situations.
Let’s talk about some practical strategies for implementing more rest into your day.
TIME MANAGEMENT
I’ve learned the hard way that when we don’t properly manage our time, we put more stress on ourselves because we end up trying to rush and complete our entire to-do list at once OR we end up putting in longer hours when we should be relaxing. Getting better at managing your time means that you’re not only completing what is most important but you are also giving yourself the time you need to rest.
ADD IN SMALL POCKETS OF MINDFULNESS
I get it, you’re busy. You’re running a business, maybe still working full-time, taking care of your household, and a million other responsibilities. So taking long periods of time out of your day for “self-care” may feel impossible to do right now. If this is you, then think about the ways you can add small pockets of mindfulness into your day.
For example, instead of chit-chatting on your lunch break, try spending some of that time listening to a meditation or journaling through your thoughts. Or where in your day can you take a quick 5-minute break to do a quick grounding exercise?
FOCUS MORE ON RESTORATIVE ACTIVITIES
If you’re in the messy middle right now, your time to rest probably isn’t really restful. So during the time you do have, what restorative activities can you focus on? 5-minutes of deep stretching? A quick meditation before bed instead of scrolling through social? What can you do that actually makes you feel good?
The point is, in order to break free from the stress cycle you not only need to change what is causing the stress but you also need to make time each day to allow your mind and body to recoup.
Before I go, I know you are busy and I never want to make you feel bad if you’re still trying to figure out time for yourself. Even 5-minutes a day can go a long way. And you also don’t have to do these exact activities if they don’t resonate with you. The purpose behind Mind Body Brand is to consistently remind you of how important rest is as an entrepreneur and to also remind you of how worthy you are of rest. No matter how that looks for you!
Let’s chat! How are you working to break the stress cycle? Let me know in the comments!
Cheers to a restful week!
– Alisha, Founder of Mind Body Brand
GOOD READS, RECOMMENDATIONS & MORE
🥲 Missed last week’s issue? Here’s what I lean into when I’m not ok.
✌🏾 Taking PTO isn’t just a thing to do at your full-time job anymore. It also means Parent’s Time Off!
✉️ Just when I thought cover letters were obsolete, here’s how to write one that will get you the job.
❌ “Research has shown, time and again, that the burden of toxicity from personal care and beauty products disproportionately affects women of color.” Keep reading
BEFORE YOU GO, DON’T FORGET TO BREATHE
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