Stress-Busters, Part 2

                

When a caregiver is feeling frustrated, frazzled, or overwhelmed walking away from the situation to ‘de-stress’ may not always possible.  There are a few quick and effective coping mechanisms that can be learned and adopted to restore our inner calm.  These skills require no special preparations or equipment; they are easy to learn with fast results and can be used for a lifetime.

The first is simple deep breathing.  When you feel a stress melt-down occurring, stop and focus on your breathing; begin by taking an extra long, slow, and deep breath through your nose; pause and then let a long slow  breath out.  Focus on the movement of your abdomen.  Take only 3 to 5 of these deep breaths or you may begin to experience dizziness. If dizziness occurs, stop the deep breathing and reduce the number of your breaths.  Deep breathing allows more oxygen to reach your brain and sends a signal to our brains associated with relaxation and calmness. This technique also slows down your response, allowing you to focus and increases your mental and physical resilience.  

The second technique is humor.  Having something to laugh about is a rapid way to calm inner stress.  This method takes prior planning:  select 3 to 5 funny memories and store them away for tough situations.  When your stress reaches a tipping point, take a deep breathe and “retrieve” a memory, allowing yourself to laugh out loud at the recollection.  Keeping things in perspective is essential.  Caregivers may face daily trials and tragedies that can steal peace of mind and happiness, so keeping humor in our day-to-day life will help to improve the quality of our health and life.   

The third coping mechanism is chanting. Repeating a few short and calming words or a short phase will allow mind and body to again slow down and relax.  Everyone needs to choose what works for them but several examples are:

• “I am a good person.”
• “This too shall pass.”
• “I can and I will.”

Stress plays an important role in how our bodies function.  It cannot be completely eliminated from our lives but the way we respond to stress can be changed.  Practicing these quick-to-use mind exercises can allow us to remain positive and healthy.  We also need to be gentle with ourselves.  No caregiver can be flawless and entirely selfless; we all do our best, and when things fall apart, we must find a way to pick ourselves and move forward, without guilt, recrimination, or debilitating stress.