In this day and age many of us live in a constant feeling of high alert and anxiety, almost like having our foot constantly on the accelerator of a car and very rarely do we learn how to control this speed, slow down or even brake! This ‘out of control’ feeling can bought on by a number of things such as multitasking, stress at work, issues at home.. sound familiar? This can then lead to a stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system, (the fight or flight response). The repeated activation of this stress response will release stress hormones into the body which will take its toll on both your psychological and physical health… i.e high blood pressure, anxiety, depression, addiction ..the list goes on.
However, if you can manage to take control of this accelerated feeling and begin to slow down, then the nervous system in turn can slow down the stress response. Once this heightened feeling of panic, begins to subside then the parasympathetic nervous system can kick in and release hormones that will relax the body and really lift your mood for the better.
The only problem is many of us have no idea how to control these responses.
One of the easiest ways is to relax! Simply encourage your body to chill even for just a few moments, calm your thoughts down and just be. This can begin to stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system and once stimulated will work on creating a calm and controlled state.
If we can restore the proper balance between the sympathetic nervous and the parasympathetic nervous system our bodies and minds will be in a much happier place!
So every day ..when you can, just take a few moments out and try your best to switch off and chill!