November 24, 2019
The Holidays are Here Again!
Here’s to a Healthy and Happy Thanksgiving Holiday for you and your family! If you are traveling, safe travels and check out the travel workouts on my website, stellafit.com. If you are staying home, don’t forget to get out and move your body! This is a great time to include the whole family in your fitness endeavors! If you need some healthy options for Thanksgiving dishes, check out these options from the Chopra newsletter
Do you ever feel like you are falling down “Alice’s rabbit hole”? Lately, I have been hearing a lot about children, teens, and even adults struggling with anxiety and anxiety disorders. I am not an anxiety expert by any means and I need to stress that what I offer are “tips” and certainly should not be used in place of going to see a professional. But since we are entering the Holiday season which means additional stress and anxiety for many people, I thought it fitting to focus my next few newsletters on healthy habits as a way to help mitigate stress and manage anxiety.
Anxiety is a normal part of everyday life and it is certainly not always bad. There is functional and dysfunctional anxiety. Anxiety is our body’s response to perceived stressful situations. It is our fight-or-flight response that is meant to protect us from the proverbial saber tooth tiger. Sometimes it feels like the saber tooth tiger is lurking behind every bush in the form of social media, fear of not matching up, fear of failure, fear of natural disasters, fear of mass shootings, fear, fear, fear. Not to mention the fear/anxiety around teens and college, if you have one or more, I am sure you know what I mean. I recently read a statistic from the National Institute of Health that stated almost 1/3 of all US adults will experience some type of anxiety disorder in their lifetime. I am concerned that it will be much higher in the next generations. As I mentioned, anxiety is not bad, but when any condition starts to negatively impact your health and wellbeing or your daily living, it is time to ask for help.
I know through my own personal experience, maintaining some structure around healthy habits has given me a great foundation for dealing with whatever changes and challenges come my way. In particular, running has been a lifesaver for managing my own anxiety. If I am overwhelmed, then going for a run is just the balance I need. As a kinesthetic learner, when I am running, I can take things apart and work through them one by one. It is the time I can let go and tell myself, “you’ve got this”! If I cannot go out for a run, then my backup is a few rounds of meditative breathing. Both work really well for me. Sleep and a balanced diet are also essential to managing anxiety.
What are your personal tools for managing stress? If life is always a combination of stress and balance, then how do we learn to apply the tools we have to be able to harness the energy we need to thrive in stressful situations and not crumble? A foundation of healthy habits is a great place to start! Do you need to evaluate your healthy habits and reassess your foundation? If so, then make sure and check out my top 5 tips for managing stress below.
NOTE: If you want more information, I found this article in GOOP very informative.