Chronic stress — HELLO, 2020! — can cramp our lifestyles, and we have to find ways to move through, release, and manage life in productive ways.

Have you ever considered how letting go might help you combat stress?

Let’s dig in. But first, let me lay the foundation.

You may or may not be familiar with the fight–flight–freeze response … the instinctive methods we humans use to manage what we perceive as threats in our environment. In the face of stressful situations, some of us enter into fight mode, attempting to control everything around us to manage the stress. Others do everything in their power to run away from the stress. And still, there are some who, as a result of being consumed by fear and overwhelm, become paralyzed and do nothing. Finally, some of us utilize a combination of all three responses, depending on how we view individual stressors.

Each of these stress responses serves a purpose, so if you’re tempted to beat yourself up about how you may be responding to life’s events, please don’t.

You’re human. And let’s face it — this year has been HARD, to say the least!

Let me unpack what I mean by ‘letting go’ by explaining what it’s not.

First, letting go to combat stress is NOT an admission of defeat in any particular area of your life.

Second, letting go is NOT adopting a laissez-faire, hands-off approach towards life.

And finally, it doesn’t mean you have no emotions associated with the stress that exists in your life. (This, my friend, would mean you’re not a living and breathing human!)

So, what does it mean to let go?

I’ll answer this by asking two questions. First, what’s swirling around in your mind and preventing you from feeling free? Second, what are you trying to change?

Our thoughts — namely, negative and anxious ones — sometimes overpower us and limit our ability to see past them, which inevitably creates emotional distress.

Think about it. How happy and uplifted can you feel if your thought life is consistently negative and overwhelming?

On a related note, we sometimes hold on to people and situations that we can’t change, again leading to stress.

So how do we loosen the grip on our stinkin’ thinkin,’ as well as those people and circumstances we have no control over? How do we let go to combat life’s stress?

Here are a few strategies …

• Take a step back and look inward. Breathe, then breathe again. Constant focus on people and circumstances can make it challenging to evaluate the source of your emotional distress. Create space in your schedule to pause and reflect. Your reflection might include exploration of how you’ve successfully navigated prior stressful events. What a great way to remind yourself just how resilient you actually are! And when you know you’ve already walked through and overcome in one area, you know you can do it again!

• Focus on the here-and-now. Our minds love to drift to the past, which will never be different, or the future, which we can’t ever fully predict. Literally all we have is today. Right now. Determine how you will ground yourself in the present — by focusing on what you’re grateful for, recognizing your inner strengths, and celebrating something you’ve handled well today. For example, it may be that you woke up and fed the dog (something I celebrate daily) or focused on something you enjoy. Whatever it is, remember: you’re here, and the time is now.

• Identify what you can change. Amidst everything going on in your individual world, coupled with the world-at-large, so much is out of your control. And you know what? That’s a good thing! Why? Because neither you nor I were built to carry the weight of the world. Or our entire family. Or everything around us. I know it feels like we were; that belief, however, is simply a myth. We’re built to manage us — our thoughts, our reactions, and our routines, plain and simple. Here are a few things I focus on in my world: what goes in my body, how often I spend time with God, who I speak with and listen to, and how much TV and social media I consume. What might you focus on?

The process of letting go to combat stress is lifelong.

It can be challenging at times.

And it is oh, so liberating.

You deserve to walk in freedom, to live a lifestyle less riddled with stress and strain. You, my friend, are worth it!

Check out one of my ‘oldie, but goodie’ videos from 2016 focused on how to let go of anger: https://www.facebook.com/DrMekel/videos/1105388809552576

XOXO,

M.

Remember: If you’re interested in learning more about managing your lifestyle, love, and loyalties to God and others, click here: https://mekelharrisphd.com/.