Building Stress Tolerance

I do notice a pattern with this time of year, the school year is ending, summer is coming, there is a transition in the season, and the majority of people I talk with are about to burst from the stressors that seem to be appearing in the masses. For this reason, I thought is would be a good week for giving ideas on how to build stress tolerance - your ability to stay regulated and productive in the face of demands and challenges. 

First things first, you want to check in with your self-care and make sure you are making it a priority. Are you getting enough sleep - most of us need around seven hours. If not, what can you do to increase quality sleep. Next, you want to check in with nutrition and hydration. For nutrition, you want to focus on whole fresh food and minimize the highly processed food. For hydration, you would want to drink approximately half your body weight in ounces. These are basic strategies and are not to replace any advice you may receive from a doctor. Finally, you would want to assess how much movement you are getting. This could be structured exercise, a walk around the neighborhood or parking lot, or dancing around the room. Ten to thirty minutes a day can help

Next, let’s check in with how you are managing stressors. Are you able to identify what are the common or repeating stressors? Is there any way to eliminate or decrease them in your life? Are there things that you could realistically delegate to someone else? Watch out for what you are committing to. Too many commitments can zap your stress tolerance. Commit to things that are important to you and avoid committing to things simply for people-pleasing purposes. Another very important skill is recognizing the elements that are in and out of your control. Energy spent on factors out of your control is a waste of energy. Let go what is not in your control and put your energy behind the things you can control.

                There is also having a routine practice to help promote emotional regulation. This could be a variety of activities. Practice with breathing exercises at certain times throughout the day. Yoga or stretching helps with regulation and mindfulness practice when done with intention.  Journaling is a great way to process the experienced emotions and gain perspective. Spending time enjoying hobbies is wonderful for maintaining emotional regulation. As you may have guessed, I would recommend doing all of the above as time and interest allows.

                The last component to increasing your stress tolerance is awareness of your mindset. Keeping a positive mindset can help immensely during stressors or challenges. You can foster a positive mindset with a simple switch of your focus. You can start by acknowledging your gratitude, even in times of stress there are things in this world and in this life that you can be grateful for. Challenge or defuse from negative thinking, time spent in negative thoughts rarely leads to feeling tolerated and regulated. Place your focus on solutions and realistic goals. If you focus on the problem, you will get more thoughts on the problem. When you are focused on solutions and your goals, you will get more ideas for how to reach them. Also looking for the growth opportunity in setbacks can help maintain motivation and persistence. In no way am I suggesting toxic positivity, that is unhelpful. Cultivating optimism even in difficult situations can serve you well.

                I hope there is something in these areas you can add to your routine to help build your stress tolerance. As always, I am here to help, simply reach out.