Stress Modulation
Stress Modulation
Have you heard the phrase - ‘everything in moderation’. In the purest of forms stress is an important component of life. It produces autonomic chemical responses that are intricately woven into the day to day operation of life. It helps us to know what decisions to take, which direction to go and what to prioritize. It proves the impetus to function and move through our day.
It is when we are living in overload or overwhelm that the incessant barrage of stressors becomes unhelpful and unhealthy. In this place each stressor, a situation to be addressed, a decision to be made becomes in itself highly charged and overwhelming, the potential ‘straw that breaks the camels back’. It is why we often procrastinate instead.
So how do we modulate stressors and move ourselves away from overload and overwhelm?
By choosing to stop and attune to ourselves. We can use the 5 As:
Awakening
Awareness
Acknowledgement
Acceptance
Action
Awakening - is the first step. Waking up to the realization that we are living in a state of overload or overwhelm. That we are constantly: on the mouse wheel; juggling more plates than we can manage and / or living unconsciously on autopilot.
It is also the recognition that we have been set up for the above by ingrained survival mechanisms that are constantly triggered in us. These survival patterns were often created in our early years to cope when essential needs were not able to be met.
Living in overload or overwhelm as adults is often unconsciously linked with developmental traumas and attachment deficits in infancy. Coping mechanisms such as living in shame, being compliant, or a ‘good girl’, having poor boundaries and / or an inability to say no etc feed contemporary scenarios where taking on more stress than is healthy is commonplace.
Step two is Awareness - once we have awoken to a new way of seeing ourselves, it is important to learn and build understanding. The awareness stage is when we gather research and gain knowledge, so we understand who we are and why we do what we do.
Acknowledgement - step three is the stage when the truth we have gathered becomes so compelling that it starts to sink in that we must acknowledge its validity.
Acceptance and Action are the last two phases and either can occur first. This is when we begin to:
integrate the knowledge gained with our experience of life;
accept the information that this process has given to us; and
choose to act / make new choices based on the new information we have.
It may be when we learn about developmental trauma is and the impact unprocessed trauma has had in our lives, especially in its relation to creating overload and and overwhelm.
And at the same time that we have learnt that it is possible to embrace and / or release unprocessed trauma (like decluttering your wardrobe) so there is space for living life in the now, with its everyday stressors.
Or the process may highlight an unhealthy relationship we need to make a conscious decision about. whether that is with someone else, ourselves or a workplace eg.
We are each unique; what we need to learn and know, at any given time, is unique to our lived experience and current situation.
It is making the choice to open our eyes and stop living life on auto drive that is important.
I hope these 5A steps help you to process through to the natural / helpful solution that are important for you to find and act on.
If you need any help along the way, feel free to reach out and or book one of my 1:1 sessions.
Until next time
Liz
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