With so many headlines like “4 in 10 people won’t be going on holiday this year” and “1 in 4 suffer from Mental Health” I wonder whether anybody is really looking at these statistics and seeing how they relate to each other and can change them for the better.  We all need a work/life balance.  I went to see the play Losing It by Ruby Wax last week.  Brilliant.  A brave and open account of Ruby trying to manage depression in her life and aiming to help remove the stigma of Mental Health and bring awareness of supporting organisations like SANE and MIND.

There was an open forum with a Q&A after the show where I heard how stress builds up; how it’s difficult for employees to let employers know they’re stressed out; how there’s so much stigma still surrounding Mental Health issues.

And stress is such a big trigger for making some of us feel ill, sometimes depressed, certainly agitated, indecisive, sometimes argumentative, short of breath, annoyed.   It may give you back ache, neck ache, (you’ve heard the expression it’s a pain in the neck!)  Stress will show up somewhere in your body as it’s one of our brain’s clever ways of letting us know that we should change something.  Don’t ignore the signs.  I’ve learned that when we listen to our bodies and these signals and recognise these stressful times, it’s time to change and do something about it.   Today.  Help yourself to de-stress and find ways to relax again.  Quickly.

Ruby spoke about how one of her solutions which is to manage the levels of ‘cortisol’ in her brain.  This is the potentially harmful chemical that is naturally produced when we’re stressed.  But how do you manage it?

By noticing the triggers that cause you stress and changing something to help you. By relaxing more.  By exercising.  By smiling and laughing more.

I want to share these quick relaxing techniques with you, to help you if you feel stressed, so in a few minutes you can change how you feel.  Flood your body with good chemicals, like serotonin, endorphins, the good stuff!  It will help to counteract the cortisol and your body will thank you for it. And so will your mind.  Regain your clarity and focus and feel better.   Imagine how good that will feel.

I hope this helps you.  It helps me and my clients, and I wanted to share this with you today.

Here’s a 5 minute de-stressing exercise you can do at work when you feel you need to unwind, relax.

First notice, what are you saying to yourself to help you de-stress? Often what we say to ourselves makes all the difference. Instead of saying “aggghh, I don’t want to feel so stressed”

Say to yourself “I allow myself to relax, now”.  Repeat this to feel more relaxed.

As you say the words ‘I allow myself to relax now’ to yourself your mind is searching for all those relaxed moments you have experienced before and recognising this will help you to relax more.  And breathe!  Notice those lovely feelings of relaxation starting already.

How will you look when you are relaxed? Imagine seeing yourself flopping down on your sofa or in your favourite chair.  Relaxed.  Or sitting in a park looking up at a clear blue sky. Or are you on a deck chair looking out to sea? In your mind see yourself being really relaxed.  What picture works best for you?  Keep breathing  and allow yourself to relax even more now as you take in those wonderful relaxing sights.

And smile.  This will release more of the good chemicals from your brain to your body.  If you can, have a laugh too!  Even if you’re forcing yourself to smile and laugh, you’re releasing good chemicals into your body.  Feel better.  Feel good.   Feel more relaxed, now.

Treat yourself to doing this relaxing technique 5 minutes every day to lower your cortisol levels.  Just as an athlete will practise daily to build muscle memory to help them perform, if you practise this technique it will build and strengthen new neural pathways.  In time it will become your automatic response at times of stress and it will help you de-stress quicker the next time you need to.  Your body will enjoy feeling more relaxed and you will discover how you feel good, calmer, happier.  De-stressed.  Relaxed.  You get the picture!

If you are interested in more relaxing techniques, please email me or call me.

To a more relaxed you,

Jo xxx

Jo James,

Business Coach, Mentor and Master Practitioner of NLP.