Now that pumpkins and broomsticks the have had their yearly outing, I noticed while I was at the supermarket yesterday that the shops are in full Christmas consumerism flow. With the advent calendars filling up the shelves I started thinking about the impact that all celebrations and important occasions can have on us, and how stress in all guises sees it’s chance and seeps in where it can. This can be a time of joy, but can also be a time when life becomes more overwhelming. Deadlines to meet. Additional duties to fulfil. Increased social expectations. Finances to juggle and balance. This is a time, for many, like no other, when the need to be perfect seems greater than ever; the perfect employee, partner, parent, and general all round human being.
It would seem, therefore, even more important to understand that stress is not created by what is going on around us, but rather how we think about what is going on around us. This has to be the case, otherwise we would all be thinking and feeling the same way, and we know that’s not true, so it has to be our THOUGHTS.
Every single negative thought we have is converted to anxiety and stored in out hippocampus- which we often call our stress buckets. The more we think negatively about a situation, past, present or future, the more anxiety we hold on to. When our stress buckets are overflowing we see everything around us from a more negative perspective- and here lies the vicious circle. The more overwhelmed we feel, the more we pile into our stress buckets, and the more negatively we think about things. Rinse and repeat.
Scientists used to think that our brains are hardwired. That out thought patterns and behaviours could not be changed. We are now aware that this is far from the truth. Our brains are more like playdoh than concrete. So we can choose to rewire our brains, to start to get the very best out of ourselves; to make better decisions based on a rationale assessment of all situations, rather than be at the mercy of our emotional responses.
Firstly I will help you to make sure that you are getting the optimum benefit from your sleep, to make sure that all the events of the day are processed, starting afresh each morning, with an empty stress bucket. This means that you will be able to cope so much better with what you need to cope with, breaking the negative cycle and regaining your own intellectual control.
You will then be guided to get your brain operating at it’s very best, changing the way you think, feel, and behave. You will have the opportunity to learn about how you brain works, and how you are able to optimise it’s functioning, gaining control of your life, your emotions.
So if you are fearing the festivities, dreading the dinner, specialising in stress, and worrying about work and wage, its not too late transform you experience from surviving to thriving, no matter what the season. Book in for your free consultation with me today the regain control, and start living the life you want to live.
