Reflect, Recalibrate and Renew
Happy New Year and Welcome to 2024!
We are getting ready to take our RV on a sojourn to the desert wonderland of the Greater Palm Springs area in southern California. My son, Brett and his wife, Rachel, live 2 hours away in Los Angeles, so we’re looking forward to spending some extra time with them.
We’re also looking forward to spending February and March at the Sky Valley Resort in Desert Hot Springs which boasts 13 natural hot springs mineral pools and tubs right on the property.
There are many healing properties of hydrotherapy and it is recommended as a treatment for many issues, including arthritis, weight control, insomnia, stress, back pain and sore muscles to name a few.
Take this Opportunity to Recalibrate
The new year is a natural time to reflect on the year that is past and to consider our hopes for the year ahead. It’s also a good time to recalibrate or reset.
The dictionary lists the following words as synonyms of recalibrate: adjust, amend, change, develop.
What comes to mind as you think about your dreams for the year ahead? What do you need to adjust, amend, change or develop?
I’d like to suggest that you consider how to better manage stress in the new year. Stress is ubiquitous in our lives these days.
We only need to glance at the news headlines to know there are many stressors that impact us daily.
Unfortunately, too much stress is not our friend as fibro folks. It compromises our immune system, keeps us awake at night, upsets our digestive system, limits our cognitive functioning and inhibits our ability to learn new things.
Even the ordinary day-to day-stresses of living with a chronic illness can have a negative cumulative effect.
Given how ever-present stress is in our lives I imagine I am not alone in feeling frustrated when reading advice to just “reduce your stress!”
Of course, it makes sense to reduce our stress when we can, but many of the difficulties of modern living are not under our control, so it makes sense to consider another perspective.
Practices to Ameliorate Stress
We can practice strategies that ameliorate stress and give our bodies, minds and souls opportunities to recalibrate, reset and renew.
In a recent research article Richard Boyatzis and fellow authors [1] point out that stress activates our sympathetic nervous system (SNS) causing the familiar “fight or flight” response that fibro bodies often get stuck in.
In contrast, activities that provide renewal and recalibration activate the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) characterized as “rest and digest.”
The PNS helps maintain balance in the body and promotes healing which is so important for our extra sensitive fibro bodies.
Some lifestyle strategies that promote renewal and balance in the body include:
- Increasing your awareness of what you are experiencing in your body
- Practicing deep diaphragmatic breathing
- Focusing on slowing down
- Eating a nutrient dense, primarily plant-based diet
- Spending time in nature
- Laughing out loud, especially with others
- Planning ahead for urgent tasks
- Practicing body-based therapies such as qigong, yoga, tai chi, or gentle movement
- Spending quality time with friends and family
- Caring for and playing with pets
If you want to take a deeper dive into this topic Prime Health has posted a great article called “It May be Time to Rebalance Your Nervous System.” [2] It includes a comprehensive review of the negative impact of stress on the SNS and PNS systems and more suggestions for how to help your body get back in balance.
So, you may be thinking, “This sounds good but I don’t know where to start.”
I’ve got you!
MAKE A PLAN TO ADD DAILY RENEWAL ACTIVITIES
Start by making a list of your everyday stressors. Notice when and how often they occur.
Next to that list make a list of your renewal activities.
Ideally, your renewal list should be much longer than your stressors list. To feel our best, we need to have many more episodes of renewal each week versus stressful experiences.
Now, get out your daily, weekly or monthly calendar. Aim to incorporate renewal activities into each part of your day, every day. Put these strategies on your calendar.
These activities can be as simple as a enjoying a hot cup of tea or taking time to text a friend. Aim for a variety of activities so you feel engaged and satisfied.
It doesn’t matter so much that you do them at a specific time, but adding these practices to your calendar will serve as a reminder to consciously choose to recalibrate by ameliorating your stress every day.
Now, you may be in a situation, as I have often found myself in different turbulent seasons of my life, when stressful experiences were out of control due to family or work issues, or a big event or transition was coming up. I was barely hanging on, barely surviving. I’m sure you can relate!
The stress and strain in my life was outstripping my ability to cope. These are times when I have reached out for support from professionals such as pastors, spiritual directors, counselors or coaches to help me get back on track.
These are times when you need to add more resources to the mix in order to cope with stress in a healthy way. Adding a health coach like me to your healthcare team could give you another person to bounce ideas off, to support you and provide accountability as you make needed changes.
Does the thought of having some extra support in the new year to recalibrate and reset by more effectively managing the stressors in your life sound good?
Then, I invite you to consider scheduling a free Breakthrough Session with me HERE to see if we would be a good fit to work together.
The new year is a perfect time to have a coach like me come along beside you to guide you in finding a way forward.
I’ll leave you with the words from Open Things, a poem by Jessica Kantrowitz, author and poet, who writes about her experience with depression, migraines and chronic illness:
Open things
and finally after the storms
and the long nights
and the locked doors
and the well-trodden paths
and the mourning like doves
and the bitter longing
after all of that it turns out
that life is full of open things
beautiful and spacious
ready for the asking
and the taking
Does this poem speak to you? To me, it reminds me of the opportunity for many dips in the mineral springs on our upcoming trip to the RV resort to recalibrate and reset in the new year. What are you ready for asking and taking?
References:
[1] https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2021-30061-002
[2] https://primehealthdenver.com/nervous-system-rebalance/
