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Stress can take a serious toll on our minds and bodies, especially if we don't deal with how it impacts us on a daily basis. The Surgeon General recently issued an advisory about the high levels of stress, specifically for parents and caregivers, and suggested ways to protect mental health. In the link below, Emily Jonesberg, MSW, LCSW, program manager for Community Learning and Engagement, and WISE, shares strategies for completing the stress cycle and explains why it's important to our overall well-being. Rogers Behavioral Health is a leading nonprofit, independent provider of mental health and addiction treatment services. With locations in ten states, they are among the largest specialty behavioral healthcare systems in the U.S., helping adults, adolescents, and children live for the moments that matter most. To live life to the fullest, we need to learn to manage stress in healthy ways and the stress cycle can help.
What it means to complete the stress cycle:
Completing the stress cycle means intentionally addressing and releasing the physical effects of stress on our bodies. This is different from managing the stressor, or source of the stress. Oftentimes, we need to work through the stress our bodies accumulate after a challenging situation or interaction first. Only then can we approach the root cause from a more emotionally grounded place.
What can we do to complete the stress cycle?
There are several ways we can complete the stress cycle:
- Move. Get between 20 and 60 minutes of physical movement every day.
- Release. Tense and release your muscles, one at a time while lying down. Tense each muscle independently for ten seconds, going from your feet up to your head. Imagine yourself working through the stress. Pay particular attention to where you hold your stress.
- Breathe. Take really slow, deep breaths in through your nose and exhale through your mouth.
- Talk to people. Positive social interactions prove to us that the world is safe.
- Laugh. Deep belly laughs are especially helpful.
- Connect with a loved one.
- Do something creative.
- Cry.
Why is completing the stress cycle important?
Research shows it’s critical for us to complete the stress cycle as soon as we can for several reasons:
- It helps our bodies reregulate. When we’re in a constant state of feeling some level of stress, our bodies are focused on the fight, flight, or freeze response and they’re unable to tend to all the other pieces of our well-being, like our heart rates and breathing.
- It prevents the effects of hanging onto stress long term, which can create challenges to our physical and mental well-being.
- It takes time to feel the positive effects of completing the stress cycle once we become more intentional about it.
- It leads to things like burnout and compassion fatigue, which is our ability to care for others. We’re not in a grounded state of mind and unable to use our skills and be our best selves. We’re much more likely to pull up stereotypes we’ve received over time and perpetuate them when we’re interacting with others because we’re not in a place of wellness.
Emily Jonesberg is program manager for Community Learning and Engagement, and WISE at Rogers Behavioral Health. She says there are treatment options when stress becomes unmanageable. If you or someone you care about is struggling, please know that support and professional help are available. For a free and confidential screening, visit rogersbh.org or call 1-800-767-4411. You don’t have to face it alone—help is just a call or click away.
