Stress has some scientific definitions but I refer to it as a self-enabled, self-propelled, self-attack that I am physically able to stop, but my mind won’t let me. This past week I was reminded that stress is very bad for my body. I had to turn off the news, spend more time exercising and load up on the usual vegetables and fruits. Guess what. It failed.

I spent the entire week anxious about a health condition, which was made worse by my frustration at a decision made by a healthcare provider. Not a good week. At all. With my new healthcare provider, I discussed the effect of the stress and how I might work on it. She suggested the 4-7-8 meditation and a counting method for coping with acute stress. (I suppose I must be too advanced for that method because it didn’t help me much. 😁)

What has worked better for me when I hit a rough patch, or when I am trying to shut my mind down, is the 5-4-3-2-1 grounding technique. It is a mindfulness exercise designed to help manage anxiety by focusing on the five senses.

How it works: I identify five things I can see, four things I can touch, three things I can hear, two things I can smell, and one thing I can taste. It works well because when there are more things I can smell than hear, I can swap the order.

The good news is that I was able to land the stress rocket and get back to normal, primarily because I was able to get a new physician and get the care I needed, but not without some additional expenses (did I mention stress already?!).

On a normal day—when people are doing the right things, and not trying to harm others— there are things that do to avoid or manage stress:

● Exercise | For me, the higher the exercise intensity, the better. Skating, biking, sprinting or just walking fast on a nature trail can really crush a period of anxiety. If things are really bad, then I can clean the entire house to burn off the stress.

● Practice relaxation and meditation | I have had good results with tai chi and yoga. My new physician suggested meditation so I am working on quieting my mind.

●Reducing/eliminating caffeine | This helps with reducing anxiety.

●Eating vegetables, fruits, and whole grains | Sugary and fatty snacks, alcohol, sodas, ice cream and my former favorite–chocolate–run in the same circles with anxiety.

●Getting adequate hours of QUALITY sleep every night | Everyone’s sleep number (hours) is different. Sleeping with humidifiers and house plants has helped me improve my sleep quality. Now if I could just remember to turn it on every night…

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During the winter holidays, it is easy to get sucked into a vacuum of activity and neglect our physical and emotional health in the name of joyful festivities, traditions, cooking and especially shopping. Your credit card is going to be really broken down in January; take care not to join it! 😁