Building Resilience
Seeing the snow fall around town, has me reflecting on all that has occurred in our world since snow blanketed Apex this past spring.
Is your mood lower than normal at this time of year? How about your ability to focus and concentrate on your tasks? Is your energy low?
These all may be signs that long term stress is affecting you. For instance, I find that long term stress can affect energy - plummet it actually.
I am seeing more and more patients in my office where their moods are negatively impacted by this pandemic. Realize though that it's not just moods that get impacted by long term stress. Stress can drive up inflammation, reduce pain tolerance, affect sleep & even impact how often you get sick.
We all know that this pandemic is not going away any time soon. Through all of this change & uncertainty, remember that there are some things that you can control. This is where building up resilience comes in. Strengthening your own internal bubble so that you can get through the winter with less stress on your plate.
Here are some of my top resilience tools that I share with my patients daily.
Get Your Zzzz’s. Sleep deprivation is the quickest way to stress the body. Insomnia contributes to mental
stress, anxiety and depression. Poor sleep also drives up inflammation in the body. Getting a good night’s rest is the best way to then tackle your day with ease, especially if you are gunning for first chair. A couple of my favourite tips for optimizing sleep is to sleep in a dark room, limit electronic usage at night & stop coffee by noon. If this doesn't quite do it for you to gain a restful night there are different supplements geared toward improving sleep initiation or sleep maintenance. Melatonin tends to work great at helping people to fall asleep, whereas Magnesium & Theanine often work better at keeping you asleep.
2. Cold Water Immersion. I got into the Wim Hof approach this year. The Iceman, as Wim Hoff is referred to as, is a proponent of being able to unlock a multitude of health benefits simply using cold therapy, breathing techniques & believing in yourself. These benefits include better sleep, more energy, stronger immune system, improved mental well being. Cold therapy can be achieved by cold showers, jumping in the lake or even immersing oneself naked in the snow. One of the places I was introduced to it was through the TV show on Netflix The Goop Lab.
3. Further to how A Positive Mindset can improve your sense of wellbeing, look at John Kabat Zinn. He has taught mindfulness meditation throughout the world and has had a profound impact on people's pain and depression. Another piece of mindset is being thankful. I believe that having gratitude to even the simple things - like Ullr's rewards can have a profound effect on one's mood & ability to get through difficult times.
4. Movement. Exercise in all forms helps to build resilience. I am working on my quad strength these days so that I have stamina to shred it this year. But outside of preseason conditioning, exercise is brilliant for keeping the mood in check. With patients I often talk about it as movement -- what type of movement did you do today?
5. Key Supplements. Some of my favourite supplements to help during times of stress are the B Vitamins, Vitamin C and Vitamin D. During heightened stress, I offer B vitamin shots to help improve energy, mood and concentration
If you are trying all of these things, and are looking for some targeted steps to build your resilience - book an appointment with me — www.alpinenaturalhealth.ca.
