I want to give you a few tools to dismantle the feeling from all sides , but I want to clarify something , first . Some believe that stressing out is helpful to them because it makes them more alert . That ' s a false belief . While facing challenges does grow you , a really toxic reaction to stress does not . It all comes down to your innate response to the stress . If you are experiencing anxiety and fear , you are not better able to handle the situation . You are actually hyper focusing and therefore blinded to a more intelligent part of your brain . If anything , you ' re HURTING the outcome . If you are having a severe reaction to the stress – physically or you are using unhealthy methods to soothe it , then you must take steps to get a handle on it . You ' ve got to do right by your body while you still have your health . Otherwise , you ' re going to harm your longevity . Only you can answer to your personal stress response . I know I thrive under ordinary stressful circumstances – it ' s almost like a high for me and I go into a flow state . I also know when I hit the threat stress state because it feels very different : things haunt me and I can ' t sleep . I can recognize it because I obsess . Like part of me fights it and dreads it . That ' s how it feels for me , and that ' s when I have to work on soothing and taking a step back . That ' s what I want you to get to know , in yourself . As a first step , I want you to reflect on your stress-type in your journal .

JOURNAL EXERCISE : What kind of stressor are you ? I want you to become aware of your reactions so you can recognize them , next time . If you expect them , the moment they come up you can start to separate from them in your mind by calling them out . This is how you can choose a new , healthier action and avoid the helpless reaction . Take notes on your schedule : notate the kinds of stress you inevitably will have to cope with – whether related to future work or personal life .

If you know you are a stress-eater , that is because you have a higher sensitivity to stress . If you ' re not a stress-eater , I want you to reflect on the last really stressful time of your life and circle with a highlighter any moments you feared what was to come . Take apart the narrative that was going through your mind and ask yourself whether or not the thoughts were rational . Were you fixated on worry or were you able to focus on actions ? Were you obsessed and losing sleep over what people might think of you ? Were you anxious and feeling overcome by the factors or were you able to let go of the future ?

Note your inner monolog , what is the feeling the most stressful times gives you ? Break down the ingredients of those sentiments : how you interpret the meaning of the stress , on a personal and emotional level . How do you feel about the actual item that is causing you to stress ? Is it out of scale in relationship to the thing you ' re stressing about ? What irrational feelings go through you – are they old ? Are they tied to selfworth ? Or feeling you are not good enough or a fraud ? Are you afraid of looking bad ? Or of being out of your league ? What goes on in your mind ? Is it a feeling of powerlessness ? Like a dread of the future ?

Get a sense for when you are conscious and unconsciously dealing with stress . What happens when your soothing habits take over ? Where are you when that happens ? Take notes on the circumstances that set up those moments .

In order to change a habit of stress-eating , your solution needs to come with a complete view of the challenge : how it ' s set up , what inspires it . Once you ' re aware of all the factors , you need better tools for talking to yourself and soothing . BEFORE the balance has been tipped , gather as many tools as you can to self-medicate and use them all before the trigger state has come

about . The number one reason things like this have power is that you learn helplessness . When you perceive yourself to be powerless , you rationalize that it ' s because of something about you that ' s lazy or broken . That is not true , but it can feel like you ' re out of control – which can make you feel hopeless and like attempts to change are futile .

What this means is your solutions will come in the form of planning and holistic change in favor of calming and soothing . The change will all be inconvenient and feel like they are too hard or you don ' t have enough time . But there ' s always time if you make it . You can affect the before and the after – so that ' s what I want to tackle with you . Being more diligent about practical non-triggered steps and planning . I also want to tell you to take these seriously and don ' t just say they ' re impossible . It ' s easy to say I don ' t have the time or to think you ' ll maybe implement one or two things , once . Commit to going all in , and the change you need to make will eventually become " your style ." Neurosis is self-perpetuating and needs to be recognized and then released .

Real change won ' t happen all at once . It will happen a little bit at a time , almost imperceptibly . Don ' t fixate on the outcome , fixate on the actions you take , today . Right now . For healthy habits to take hold , you must enact them from a place of safety , control and conscious awareness . They must become natural habits . That ' s why I want you to take steps now , or when the stress is not a massive problem . As a first step , I want you to begin a regular practice of soothing in the form of exercise and empty-mindedness . Empty-mindedness means a meditative state where you are not able to hear your brain chattering , allowing you to control your brain via your physical body . That means when your brain is going crazy with thoughts , you can turn them off by

utilizing a physical practice , SOLELY for the sake of staying out of this mental state – so you can damper the soothing chemical loop a tad . At this point , stress-eating is happening almost unconsciously , so your job is to self-medicate and set the stage for the best outcome possible – beforehand . In the areas , you have some control . Like planning for an attack . That means scheduling time for yourself to get on the treadmill – making it a priority , equal to work stuff . It also means having consistent habits during times you know stress will chemically tax you . So start a daily first-thing-in-the-morning meditation practice . Don ' t make excuses ! There ' s always time to take care of yourself if you MAKE it a priority .

Something ' s got to give . Because stress is something that triggers your chemical centers , I want you to take on a habit of doing things that replicate the chemical release process of stress-eating , so it is less likely to happen in the first place . If you are stressed out even the tiniest bit , it ' s imperative that you begin to replace the source of opioids before that soothing loop starts – and that must come in the form of releasing endorphins like running around the block or dancing with headphones on . What I mean by this is you need another drug source . You need it before your addiction takes hold of the wheel . Start " dosing " yourself on a regular basis – just to temper even the smallest bit of stress-hormone . It won ' t feel like it works until you keep doing this as long as you can – for me it was a month of consistent use . And then it will become automatic . And eventually , it will feel AWESOME !

In addition to a soothing practice , limit the caffeine and alcohol . Additionally , take probiotics and omega-3 fatty acids . Eat as many plants and whole grains nuts seeds and beans as possible . Past that , here are some specific tools for you to apply at various stages .

32 / HEALTHY RGV