I hope you are enjoying your weekend! I’m getting ready for a 2 week trip to Florida to unwind, spend some quality time with my husband and dogs, and get some SUN! Needless to say I still haven’t packed and have a lot to do, HA!
This is are post deployment moon and I couldn’t be more excited. It’s soo needed! One interesting thing that has come up for me during this time is guilt. I feel guilty taking time off from work, only having limited times for client calls, and unplugging from social media.
I wonder if I have worked hard enough, done enough, and what will happen if I take time off. Will I lose followers? Make less money? Not be as relevant?
All of which are silly thoughts. It’s a couple weeks. And if I can’t give myself a couple weeks out of the entire year, am I really prioritizing my health and happiness as often as I think?
In the spirit of this weird but important place I’m in, this week’s Feminine Periodical is looking at stress, compassion, and raising our awareness around these activities.
Don’t forget to do the exercise at the end and let me know what you are going to work on!
Let Your Triggers Be Your Teacher
This article is so good, I’m not even going to summarize. Here’s the first part:
“Triggers make us human. They happen to us at work, in relationships, and in interactions with complete strangers.”
A trigger is an unhealed emotional wound. The level of emotions you experience gives you insight in to how long the trigger has gone suppressed.
It’s not that triggers are bad, they actually give us an opportunity to observe and reflect which enables us to heal. If this sounds simple, it’s because it is. At the same time it’s so difficult to practice because we are having a subconscious reaction during an emotional trigger.
Our reaction is literally below our awareness, which is why if another person is involved it can leave them feeling completely confused.
In healing triggers, we change the way we perceive the world around us and our interactions with the people in it. If we can identify triggers and separate ourselves from the emotional reaction, we gain insight.”
Check out the full article to begin working on your own tiggers.
If you’re trying to heal hormonal imbalances, you have to address your stress. It’s very tempting to want to take a new supplement or start a new diet and think it will solve everything.
Unfortunately, this isn’t how our hormones work. Stress directly impacts hormone production.
When our bodies experience a stressor (all are recognized the same way), it reacts by releasing the stress hormone cortisol and entering the Sympathetic state.
Our hormones are built in the Parasympathetic (rest and digest) state. So if we are constantly experiencing stress and aren’t getting into that rest and digest state enough, this can lead to hormonal imbalances.
Different Types of Stressors:
🔹Mental/emotional stressors
🔹Anxiety
🔹Worry
🔹Long work hours
🔹Lack of sleep/poor quality
🔹Moving
🔹Relationships/divorce
🔹Exercise
🔹Toxic chemicals
🔹Medications (OTC and prescription)
🔹Gut imbalances/pathogens/parasites
🔹Nutrient deficiencies
🔹Alcohol
🔹Inflammatory foods
🔹Under eating
🔹Poor digestion
🔹Loss of a loved one
🔹Pregnancy/postpartum
🔹Perfectionism
🔹Perceived stress
This doesn’t mean you have to eliminate all stressors to heal hormones–that’s not realistic and some stress is good. It’s about raising awareness and working on what’s in your control and shifting your mindset around what is outside of your control.
EXERCISE:
Learn more about stress and building resiliency in my Season 1 Episode 18 podcast episode.
REMINDER: I’m currently taking on 1:1 clients. If you’d like to explore what it would be like to work together and if we are a good fit, fill out this form to get more details!
