Let’s get right to it: If you have a brain and a body, you have stress. Yup- it’s a fact. We can’t avoid stress all the time. Of course you can seek out situations we think will be less stressful, or avoid certain experiences entirely to minimize our stress, but our bodies are wired to experience it. To navigate this reality, let’s strive to view stress more as a given in our world rather than something we need to avoid. Stress is- and will always be- as sure a part of daily lives as our need for food, shelter and water. It’s what compelled our ancestors to run from threats like bears, and-- if we’re thinking about it through a positive lens-- it can compel us to change our behaviors in our modern world, too.
But let’s be real: the ‘stress’ we are more used to experiencing is the negative kind. This often shows up in our bodies as sweaty palms, feeling jittery and unfocused, being on a short fuse, and may bring with it physical ailments like an aching back or headache. And the reality of a global pandemic on top of the stress our bodies were already experiencing has put many of us in a more heightened and more frequent state of stress. E-x-h-a-u-s-t-i-n-g. In some ways our brains have adapted to pandemic stress over time -- at this point we likely pay less conscious attention to the changes of the pandemic than we did in March of 2020 -- but our bodies are still undergoing pandemic stress, as the threats and fears persist.
So what might it look like to better understand the innate connections between our brains and bodies when it comes to stress, instead of ignoring the links? Because the reality is that the more equipped we can become at navigating stressors in our lives (notice I said ‘navigating’ rather than ‘eliminating’) the more calm, at ease, relaxed, and joyful we can be. And isn’t that something we can all use more of?
If you’re curious about strategies to proactively manage stress in your life, the first thing I recommend is the practice of pausing and noticing. If you’ve been following along with my blogs thus far, you know that I'm a big fan of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI® ). When it comes to stress, the MBTI® tool is another resource to work through stressful moments with a better understanding of why they happened and how to alleviate them. As I’ve shared before, I am an Extravert (or “E.”) And I am working to notice when I feel particularly drained or “stressed” at the end of a workday- even when I am doing work that I love. At my best, I pause and ask myself some questions before I start “treating” the symptom. For me, these questions sound like: What happened during my day? Did I get a chance to interact with others (an energizer for me as an E)? Did I get to share big ideas with others (another energizer, as an ENTP)? When the answer is no-- which it can be with my virtual work-- I know more about the source of my stress. Without this quick reflection, I have a tendency to give in to the exhaustion, or jump to some illogical conclusions- like “I’m stressed out because of my job,” when the reality may be that I’m not working enough in ways that serve my preference as an E. Pausing to make these connections can be a game changer.
With this reflection in mind, I know I can proactively adjust my daily schedule to avoid feeling stressed out after a particularly long day. I might pause for a quick walk or lunch with a friend, work at a co-working space, or schedule a brainstorm session with one of my teammates to bring myself back into balance and create a less stressed state in which to operate. Not to say that my days won’t ever end in stress- but a better understanding of my innate preferences helps me feed my preferences to maintain focus and re-energize when needed.
I’m excited that next month, I will be presenting a session at the AusAPT Conference: “Type and Stress: Your Type and Mind/ Body Connections” and I can’t wait for this opportunity! My 60 minute session will dive more deeply into what’s covered in this blog post: how stress overlaps with MBTI® Type and mind-body connections, and what we can do with this knowledge. My goal is for all participants to leave with a sense of how they can individually manage their own stress more proactively via a deepened understanding of brain-body connections and the MBTI® tool.