By Karine Landart, R.P (Qualifying), O.T
April is stress awareness month, with the theme of #LeadWithLove. There have been multiple stressors in the recent months if not years, including a global pandemic, political and subsequent financial tensions, environmental worries from natural disasters down to difficult losses experienced in our local communities.
Stressors are everywhere and it can feel like an overwhelming experience from an immediate issue such as exams, illness, or relationship tensions. It can also insidiously creep in as we push through difficult times with the thought that “I will be better once X is done” or “I can get through this; I will be fine”. And we often navigate a stressful situation and return to feeling secure and happy within our lives.
But what happens when this is not the case. Stress can be felt or experienced in multiple ways, such as changes in sleep that do not resolve, changes in our eating habits, aches and pains or other health issues. We can feel more distant from others, doom scroll just to avoid tensions. We can feel fidgety, constantly worried and have difficulty to regain a safe connection with our bodies. When worries and stressors spill over from work into our lives, we can experience burnout.
Stress becomes a voice that says, “you don’t know how to get through this”. It becomes a feeling of isolation that you are alone in your worries and experience. It creates a sensation of fear, that you do not belong or that you need to worker harder to resolve an issue. Yet stress is dissipated through seeking help and connection, through allowing yourself to listen to your body and understand its needs, through understanding that you have what you need to get to the other side of a limiting fear. It hears that love, kindness and compassion towards self and others, can reduce our stress responses.
If you feel overwhelmed from stress, talk to someone and share the load. If you know someone who is struggling, provide a compassionate ear. Don’t let yourself be frozen by stress, seek support. Lead With Love for yourself and for others.
Contact Karine Today: Info@ksrc.ca
