What is up ? Hello there . My name is Jessica Paching Bunch , you can call me JPB , and this is Brain Body Resilience . This is a podcast dedicated to growth , human development and stressing a little bit less so you can go ahead and live a little bit more .
Hello and welcome back my podcast People . This is the Brain Body Resilience podcast . I'm your host , jpb , and we are on episode number 146 . And I am happy to report that I have been more intentional about my nervous system hygiene in this last week . Each day is a focused effort and that's how we get shit done .
I saw a post recently that I wanted to share . I mean , we think of this . It said something like you are the most important person in your life or no , that's a different one . There isn't a single person in your life you need more than you . So start paying attention to her , take care of her , be there for her and see how things change .
And I really love that , because we tend to and immediately . When I say this , I think about parents , moms , especially we tend to put everyone else first , but I think , as women , this is something that we have always been expected to do as well . And , yeah , there is not a single person in your life that you need more than you .
So we have to care for ourselves , and it is different when we start taking care of ourselves , to care for ourselves , instead of doing things that we think we should do because we feel bad about ourselves . It is wild when you are kind to someone , they respond differently , and this includes you , my friend .
All right , those are all things I wanted to say , but not what we're talking about today .
I want to talk about the core strategies we can use to manage stress and anxiety , and this episode was inspired by the work of Dr Shelley Harle or Harrell , I don't know how to pronounce that and the National Institute for Cognitive and Behavioral Medicine , and these are all things that we talk about here in Brain Body Resilience on a regular basis , so I really
appreciate the confirmation bias taking place for me here . Just a cherry on top , if you will .
So the first strategy we have is working with our attention to direct our attention away from anxious or catastrophic thinking , and to do this , we can use things like mindfulness practice , whether that be mindfulness , mindful movement or meditation or mindful breathing and again , mindfulness just means that we are paying attention to what is happening inside of us ,
outside of us , around us , with our senses , without getting stuck on one specific thought or thing , just paying attention and letting it come and go . Also , we can work with our attention , directing our attention and focus with breathing techniques , and we've gone over this so many times .
Also with visualization , and this one I think I have talked less about , but there are quite a few at this point studies on visualization and with neuroimaging showing that the same regions that light up while you are doing something also light up while you are , and by light up I mean , like we see that there is activity in those regions Excuse me that those
parts of your brain are working , whether you are visualizing something or you're actually doing it . So that's super interesting to me . So there are earlier episodes on mindfulness and breath work that I will link in the show notes , and we will also be having a mindfulness and mindful movement teacher here for a combo in the coming months . So stay tuned for that .
I'm very excited about that upcoming episode , alright . Number two movement and creativity . We talk about this as well . To move anxious thoughts and energy in the body .
We can direct our energy to movement and exercise or working to create or build something , a project , something painting something , something creative , drawing , sculpting , gardening , something that takes your head into the task and the goal that you have there , and I have an earlier episode that I will link about movement and mental health .
I also have a workshop all about movement for mental health , and I will link that as well . Number three reflection and exploration strategies . These are things like journaling , building self-awareness by self-monitoring and communication , like with a therapist or a trusted person in your life .
When we can recognize that , there where the anxiety comes from , where it shows up for us , and then become more aware of what triggers the stress and anxiety , we can start to recognize our thoughts and feelings and notice when we need to intervene . Awareness always comes first . We cannot manage or control something that we are not first aware of .
Awareness and then action . And finally we have number four of our core strategies and this , my friends , the basics work . Build a foundation with a healthy lifestyle , and this does not mean restriction and limiting the things that you do or you enjoy or that you eat . It doesn't mean obsessing over your food and exercise .
What it does mean is that you pay attention to your nutrition , to your movement and your social relationships , so you can be intentional about adding the things or subtracting the things , so that you can feel better , so that you can function more efficiently and live optimally .
We know that when we don't have the right nutrition or sleep or hydration or movement or social relationship , social support . Our brain and body do not function as well and this causes the things I mean . This takes us into survival mode . The stress response is triggered . Then we are . Everything is based on that . There's so many layers .
So this my head is I've got all kinds of side notes . We'll do extra episodes , but the basics work , and these are things that I think we overlook so frequently because it seems too simple to be effective . It doesn't have to be complicated to be effective . More is not always better . Better is better .
And so if we're just paying attention and we are intentional about the things that we are consuming , the things that we are eating , the things that we are drinking , the things that we're reading and watching and listening to and the type of environments that are around us , so adding in some attention into healthy relationships yourself being the most important person
to build a healthy relationship with See how I circled back to that and tied that in , which was not intentional , but I am a big fan that it worked out like that .
So we're adding in a couple drops of intention into our relationships , into creating healthy environment both inside and around us and making sure to add some healthy pleasures , some joy in to help buffer the stress and anxiety that will come , because we are human and that is just how it works .
There is no such thing as a stress-free life , nor should there be . So the core strategies to help manage stress and anxiety are attention-centering , expressive and creative strategies , reflection , exploration and healthy lifestyle habits , and these are broad and rather vague .
Sometimes it can be hard to know where to start and what will actually work for you , because we have these tools and we know through scientific research , through experiences of our own , we know that these work , but not everything works best for everyone .
So we have to build our nervous system hygiene routine based on the things that are useful and usable to us . Thank you , lawinnie Lingavik , for that term and that thought process of finding what is useful and usable for you in the moment that change , the seasons , that change , because we will also need something that works for us at different times .
We don't always need the same tools , and that's why we have to build them , so that we have a variety to choose from , Whether that's in an immediate need , when we're having high anxiety or high stress and we're in that acute state and we need something immediate , or the things that we build , to build new patterns and re-pattern our nervous system and have those
sustainable preventative practices . So this is actually what my manager stress mentorship is for . It's a six week one-on-one nervous system hygiene builder where I work with you to identify your stress triggers and then build practical tools to navigate those times so you can start stressing less and living more , start knowing what tools work for you .
So I'll link that in the show notes as well . I think that's where I'm going to leave it . If you found this episode useful , please do share it with someone who might also find some use in it . I hope you have a beautiful week . We'll do this again next week . Until then , peace .