Do you know what blows my mind? When people say they work best under pressure. Are you sh*tting me? All stress does is make me cry and want chocolate. Stress and I are not friends. (On a side note, another thing that I am not friends with is grammar, and I can’t fully tell if “stress and I” is grammatically correct. My apologies if it’s not). Anyways, back to the point. The last few weeks were insanely stressful. I was traveling, working outrageous hours and trying to settle a ton of personal things. And, whenever I’m super stressed out, the last thing I want to do is eat healthy and work out. Trust me, I am well aware that a good ass kicking does wonders for stress. Unfortunately, it just so happened that my ass was perfectly content lying in bed eating peanut m&ms, feeling bad for myself. Epic Paleo fail.
However, while creeping on Facebook the other day, I came across an awesome post by the Whole9 that was so simple yet powerful. The post is as below:
Tip of the Day:
Have health challenges? Don’t look for complex or specialized solutions. Start with the Godfather of Unhealth: stress. Manage current stress, but understand that there are many long-lasting consequences of prior stress (even if it’s no longer going on). Correcting adrenal dysfunction is paramount to optimizing overall health, and in Dr. Daniel Kalish‘s opinion, should precede targeted gut healing or detox strategies. #orderofpriority
Personally, stress is the root cause of the majority of health challenges I continue to face. Oh, you need this 14 page report by the end of the day? Great, let me go grab some cookies and get right on it. I don’t know why my body still acts like a 5 year old and thinks that cookies and candy will solve anything. Not cool, Erica, not cool. But, what I’ve learned from Dallas and Melissa’s post is the importance of taking a step back and checking yourself. Listen to your body. Recognize the first signs of stress and nip it in the bud. Go for a walk, clear your head. Do whatever you have to do to eliminate or reduce the stress in your life.
How do you guys deal with stress? Do you have any stress relief tips or tricks? Please share!
-Erica
Sleep, Eat, Gym, Repeat. 
Love the picture. I teach a Piloxing class (Pilates and boxing), and as we’re throwing punches, I actually ask the class to think about who made them mad that day, and to show me how they feel about it. Funny how those punches get a little more intense for some of them… Hope your week perks up!
Haha, its funny how when you put a face to it, things can get intense : )
I do martial arts and salsa in order to relieve stress. And I have accumulated a lot of it I assure you! Martial arts help me kick the ass of my partner for the day (although I get some ass kicking in return as well) and salsa (music to be specific) keeps me feeling happy for a very long period of time.
I also reach for food, especially sweets, as soon as I feel stressed so I needed something to control the amount of sugar I eat.
THAT is kick ass! Keep up the good work!
Great post, and a great point for us to all stop and think about sometimes! I’m like you, I’m a stress eater — specifically sweets for some reason, although I can’t for the life of me think of a time where chocolate actually made me feel better about a stressful situation (longer than the 3 seconds it took me to eat it, that is). I always use exercise to manage stress, but sometimes in the middle of a bad workday, it’s something as simple as excusing myself, going to a quiet place, and taking a few deep breaths. Hope you’re doing better!
I couldn’t agree more! I think you’re right, removing yourself from the situation is the way to go!
I go running. It helps me clear my head and relax. I wind up focusing in my breathing and stepping to the beat of whatever song I’m currently listening to. I think that little escape I get, even though it’s not for very long, definitely helps me.
That’s a great idea! Now if only I could get back into running shape..
When I get super stressed I like to go for a long walk in the sun. Soaking up some vitamin D seems to make me feel better. There’s also something to be said for hot baths, they always help me settle down. Hope you’re doing better. 🙂
I love those ideas! Just went for a walk, and it felt amazing : )
Grammar lesson: If you would normally use “me” in the sentence, then it’s correct to use me if a sentence. You would say, “This is a picture of Jane and me” because you would say, “This is a picture of me” if you left Jane out. However, if you were to say, “Jane and I went to the mall,” that would be correct because you would say, “I went to the mall” if you were to leave Jane out. You wouldn’t say, “This is a picture of I” or “Me went to the mall.” Grammar lesson ended.
I love me some grammar! Thank you! Looks like I actually used “Stress and I” correctly : )