When you're stressed, do you nourish or numb? We often unconsciously use activities which soothe the autonomic nervous system (ANS). This is the non-conscious part of our brain and body that is responsible for our survival (on a basic level, it's the flight or fight response). These activities help us to come back towards regulation - a calmer, more conscious Ventral state where we can choose how we act rather than react. (BTW, I'm using the language of Polyvagal Theory [...]
Lots of people are asking "why am I so angry?" right now. They're struggling with the emotion - how it makes them feel and the impact on others. I'm also aware that I spoke of "harnessing anger" for good in last week's blog, and some of you are wondering how to do that. And so I thought this was worth a bit more exploration. Anger in Chinese Medicine In Chinese Medicine, anger is the emotion of [...]
It's hard to miss the news right now. And it feels like none of is it good. And so many people I know are fed up with dealing with bad news so are stepping away from it altogether. And I get that. I did the same myself back in 2016 when my nervous system was shot with ill health and burnout (and Trump 🙄). And there's no doubt that being exposed to these stories absolutely creates a stress response in us, [...]
A recurrent theme of my coaching this week (in fact, most weeks) is how to work efficiently. Many of my clients are go-getting employees or ambitious entrepreneurs and all are super busy. And often super stressed. And if I'm honest, not operating super efficiently or effectively (mainly because of this stress). Instead, they're firefighting, juggling, and dealing with whatever's shouting the loudest. They're being pulled in many different directions and feeling overwhelmed. And they're starting to become frazzled and [...]
I've created this page to make it easy to find my blogs all about how to soothe stress & anxiety. I'm passionate about the role the non-conscious brain and the nervous system have on how we think, act and show up. For change to really happen - and last - we have to bring our nervous system along for the ride, in a safe and sustainable way. As powerful as cognitive coaching can be, if the nervous system is dysregulated [...]
Are you feeling stuck right now? Have you taken time to notice how you react to suggestions, new possibilities and different options? You might be struggling with what I call the "instant no"? Or perhaps more accurately, it's not so much of a hard no (because we're also the people who often find it tricky to set clear boundaries). It's probably more of a "hmm, not sure that's for me", a "but what if.." or a "that's beyond me; [...]
Is multitasking a help or hindrance to you? I've been a fully signed-up member of the Multitasking Gang for many years. But - gulp - I know it doesn't always help and I've worked hard to keep it in some sort of balance so it works with me, rather than against me. It’s something I talk about regularly with my clients because so many of us seem to be like computers running 100+ programs at any one time (and [...]
I don't know about you, but right now, so many people I'm encountering are stressed and exhausted. There's a lot going on and many things are feeling scary - both in the big picture and closer to home. And all this comes on the back of 2 years in a pandemic.So it's not surprising, but it is something we have to be aware of - how to work with our capacity. In honesty, I'm pretty good at this now. Chronic [...]
Here’s the final blog in my series about how to soothe the nervous system and restore a sense of calm using our five senses. It’s the turn of touch, a powerful tool for feeling better when stress, anxiety or overwhelm are looming. The techniques listed in these blogs are all great ways of finding some calm. Some are more complicated than others so use the rules of KISS to find the ones the resonate with you. With practice, they'll [...]
How can we use our tastebuds to reduce stress and anxiety, and beat overwhelm? What's that? “Cake, and loads of it!” But is that the only way? And does cake work? This is the latest in my blog series, all about how to reduce stress and anxiety and beat overwhelm by tuning into our senses. Whatever you choose, remember, the rules of KISS... Remember to Keep Things Super Simple (KISS) Find small, simple ways to soothe Choose [...]
