Commonly thought of as 'fight or flight'. Fast heart beat, tightening muscles, body temperature quickly elevates. Sometimes for me... an out-break of stress is usually a good cry. I feel 100 times better after. Sometimes you just need to let it out. It's your body's natural response. Emotional tears release toxins and a number of stress hormones. Relieving our moods by actually releasing hormones like Oxytocin and Endorphins. My biggest fear when it comes to crying, is crying at the wrong times. It requires some strength to hold back tears but when you don't have to - it's such a good release. When was the last time you had a good cry? Can I just mention that I'm currently typing this while listening to 'Cry' by Rihanna (unintentional, I promise).
'AHHH STRESS'
- whether you are one of those people who says this or not, the word 'stress' is so commonly used now a days by almost everyone. High demands for students to get that top grade or pressure from your boss to get that 4 hour task done in half the time. Stress can come about in a variety of formats. Everyone deals with this natural response in different ways. One task may be stressful for one person, but the same task may not be stressful for you and vice-versa. We each have our own capacity of what we can and cannot handle. I want to reiterate that it's a natural response and it's totally okay to feel... stressed. I don't know why people think crying is bad or that it's 'childish' or 'weak'. But in actual fact, it's your chance to let yourself rebalance. It's almost pointless holding all that stress in and letting it build to something much worse than a mini out-break of crying.
In reality, we cannot cry every time we get stressed, so here is a way of conceptualising stress and ways in which we can rebalance ourselves.
STRESS BUCKET
Have a look at this nifty diagram. I found this revolutionary! Like seriously. At times of stress or worry, draw out your version of your 'stress bucket' I learnt this concept when I was on a CAMHS course (Child and Adolescence Mental health Service.) I showed this to a number of pupils while teaching about stress. To draw out your own, simply write on your bucket what is currently stressing you out and then by the tap write down things you can do to relieve some of that stress. For example, sports you may like or a hobby - try something new like yoga or walking around the park.
I hope this short blog post has made you think a little bit more about what stress is and how we can handle our own stress loads. Recently, I've noticed my stress threshold has increased (my bucket has essentially gone bigger, remember our bucket size can change at times). January was a crazy month for me, university interviews, mock exams, driving test, planning and organising my birthday party... But alas, it's now February while I write this post and I'm still alive and you will be too.
Good Luck my friends.
You've got this.
Simone.
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