Managing Stress & Building Resilience

Veronika Jerdetski, RYT 200, Corporate Wellness Program Coordinator

We've all experienced moments of overwhelm in our lives. Periods of time when our work load piles up, a relative needs extra attention, we have unexpected repairs that are costly and urgent. Something happens that pulls our attention away from our stable and predictable routine and forces us to adapt. Sometimes our stress response can really help us activate our nervous system, laser focus our attention and problem solve on the spot. At other times, our nervous system may inaccurately perceive something as a threat, sending us into a whirlwind of unmanageable and unproductive chaos.

A few years ago I was experiencing severe chronic pain in my back and had to be on bed rest for several months. At the time I was visiting my grandparents overseas, and my sister and dad had flown out as well, so that we could gather as a family. Of course, I was looking forward to all the things we would do together: go to the Botanic Gardens, attend the theater, and I had planned all the meals that I would make. My unexpected flare up made it difficult and at times impossible to participate fully in any of these activities. Instead of acting as the homemaker and taking care of others, I had to reach out for help. It wasn't at all what I had planned!

I was really disappointed at how limited my capacity was, and felt that I was letting everyone down and missing out on family bonding time that I might not have the opportunity to recreate in the future due to distance and schedules that are so hard to accommodate. I felt stressed, dysregulated, upset and emotionally activated. I wasn’t very present, I was rejecting reality and wanted all the pain to go away. Even the limited amount of energy I had was spent in mental agony, instead of being with my family.

After the first few days of shock, denial and adjustments have passed, acceptance for the current situation started to settle within me. I surrendered to what was happening, accepting that I was not able to change it. I asked for specific help that I needed, explained my limitations to all my family members, and felt grateful for the care I was receiving. I accepted reality as it was, found ways to exist in that reality, and enjoy life exactly as it was in that moment.

Sometimes stress can show us what areas in our lives need extra care and attention - have we been cultivating our support networks, tending to our bodies, and partaking in activities that inspire us? At other times stress shows us that some areas of our lives need radical change - a schedule that is unsustainable, relationships that are draining us of our joy, unsupportive management at work.

While dealing with stress in the moment can feel dysregulating, if we can allow ourselves to slow down even a tiny bit and pay attention to the information our bodies are trying to tell us we can start to grow, expand, and build resilience. And most importantly encourage our own thriving.

There are specific practices we can implement into our lifestyle to help us manage and process stress - some of them include breathwork practices, mindful movement, tapping, gentle yoga, meditation, non sleep deep rest and yoga nidra. If you are looking for a place to start, check out our Virtual Membership.

For more tips on how to manage stress, download our Stress Less Guide!

In health,
Veronika Jerdetski
RYT-200