Rinse & Repeat: How to stop the cycle?

Life can be hard some days. My hard is relative of course. I feel very supported by my friends and family, have a roof over my head, food in the fridge, and clean clothes. My ‘hard’ days look more like, dealing with stressful situations, trying to keep myself regulated, helping my kids navigate their life challenges, trying to support my team members through personal and professional growth, helping my mum with her health needs, managing pet care, exercising, finding time to spend with my husband, connecting with my friends, and so on.

Every day is different, and every day brings new challenges, new triggers, new excitements, and new stressors. Each day comes with a set of expectations (ones set by myself) and then magically, “things do not go as planned,” and I’m off the rails.

Does this happen to you? And when it does, what happens to you psychologically, mentally, physically?

Now, stress isn’t necessarily a bad thing. In fact, stress helps us acknowledge a challenge and grow. That said, for me there are actual reactions I can feel in my body.  There is a sense of shame, guilt, anger, and sometimes apathy. I can physically feel my body flood with anxiety. I can feel my heart rate pick up. I can feel myself reaching for that glass of wine to stamp out those feelings. But what if I sat with them instead? What if I went out for a walk in nature, or throw on some of my favourite music?

Here are five things I will be adding into my daily routine:

1. Sit with it! Ask myself what is happening right now. Really lean in.

2. Be Compassionate! If a friend came to me with the same concerns, how would I sit with her? What advice would I give her?

3. Journal it out! Sometimes if we don’t know exactly what is triggering our experience, using free-writing journaling can help us freely explore the answers.

4. Take a breather! Walk outside and take 5 deep breaths. Look around and enjoy nature. Is it raining, sunny, windy?

5. Be grateful! Reflect on the good things that you have in your life. Cup half full. A positive mindset can truly be freeing.

While I’ve previously talked about ‘witching hour’ that time in the day where we gravitate towards our nagging habits, how do you manage those fires that emerge from no where?

How does one ‘detach’ from the old habits that continually bind us into a circular experience. How do we get out of the rinse-repeat cycle?

I’d love to hear more about how you manage those unexpected stressors in a healthy way?

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