“Restoring our energy”
The Restoring Process
My experience of inner-stress management practices.
- It is first helpful to recognize the stressor.
- It is essential that I accepted that stress is a part of my self-care.
- Understanding my beliefs, changed my relationship to the stressor? from foe to friend.
Mindfulness for healing stress fatigue: the three R’s.
1. RESTING– includes gentle exercises, medications, wholesome foods, humour, sitting or resting quietly.
2. RELATING– what is my relationship to the stressor? There will be stress. How do I chose to relate to it?
3. RESTORING– how do I ground and rebalance my parasympathetic sympathetic nervous system?
Mindfulness of the Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS)
Purpose:
Promotes healing, regeneration and nourishment of the body, and balances the immune system.
Emotional Content:
The PNS is activated by feelings of calmness, love, peacefulness, contentment, satisfaction and self-appreciation.
The PNS:
Is activated by rest, sleep, meditation, and relaxation techniques.
Laughter and tears are both usually signs of parasympathetic activity.
Decreases blood pressure, heart rate, blood glucose and heat production.
In this state, the mind can see the bigger picture and also turns inward for introversion, reflection, receptivity, and depression.
Is associated with feelings of ‘coming down’ (stopping & dropping) and release of tension such as disappointment, grief, shame, guilt, and despair.
Mindfulness of the Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS)
Purpose:
Promotes the ‘fight or flight’ response.
Emotional Content:
Is activated by negative emotions and thoughts including fear, sadness, anger, worry, resentment, and aggression.
The SNS:
Increases muscle tension
Creates stress and anxiety
Causes difficulty resting and sleeplessness
Increases the heart rate, blood pressure, blood sugar, and heat production
Increases adrenaline (epinephrine), insulin, cortisol and the thyroid hormones
Four parts of inner-stress management are:
- Grounding
- Resting
- Opening
- Understanding