Want to learn a crazy thing about stress?
It can actually a good thing.
My name is Crystal McLain, this is Creative Self Care, and together we’re exploring new ways towards wellness, so we can effectively care for the mind, body and mother-lovin’ soul, and live healthy, empowered lives-individually and collectively.
If you appreciate what I’m doing here at CMC, want to support my work, and gain a more personal experience, consider joining my friends at Patreon for the same price as a fancy cup of coffee. To learn more about our community and how we’re making a positive impact, you can visit crystalmclaincreative.com
Alright, let’s get to it.
Alright. So, hear me out...
Stress is a signal which is to be used as a motivator.
We’ve all heard of the tired, played out analogy of the tiger walking into the room that triggers our stressful, fight-flight-or-freeze response. Right?
Well, let’s talk about what’s happening here.
Your brain is wired up to a bunch of sensory organs that are designed to detect changes in your environment. If the changes are alarming, then your body goes through a sequence of chemical and electrical reactions that MOTIVATE you to take action.
So- if you smell smoke, you’re going to look for fire.
If you hear a crash, you’re going to investigate the cause.
And this information, the smoke, or the crash, or the sight of the very unlikelly tiger, is preparing your body to either fight off, or manage the threat.
Or, to flee, or run away from the perceived danger.
Or, to play possum, and just freeze in the face of adversity.
And this freeze response is where most of us live, because the shit that our brains perceive as danger isn't actually dangerous. At least not in a very obvious way like a fire, a burglar, or tiger are.
A lot of the things that cause us stress in this modern world are a lot more subtle and complicated.
Like, information overload.
We live in a time of constant stimulation, connectivity, and the pressure to keep up with unrealistic expectations, and it’s coming from a cute, shiny box in the palm of your hand.
Now, I love social media as much as the next person. But, can we get real here? We’re on it way too much.
I don’t want to be the buzz-kill, bad news fairy, so let’s just take a moment to acknowledge why social media is great.
It’s great because we can stay connected with our friends and loved ones, and even meet new people that makes us feel seen, heard, and validated.
And, it’s a great way to stay on top of current events.
And, it’s a fun and easy way to find recipes, cheap DIY hacks, make up and hair tutorials, and gardening inspiration.
But the average post is only between 3-60 seconds long, and we are scrolling, and scrolling, scrolling, bombarding our brains with information designed to grab our attention and make us FEEL things.
We’re going from cat memes, to genocide, to recipes, and politics. We’re checking and rechecking to see if we get any likes or comments on our own posts. We’re getting high on dopamine when someone interacts in a positive way, but then feeling threatened when a troll or bot a challenges us. And meanwhile, thrown into this mix, are advertisements based on personal algorithms, targeting us while we're at our most vulnerable.
See, this is exhausting for your brain. It simply isn't designed to process this much information.
And your emotions are being pulled in too many directions, overwhelming your brain's processing center, potentially causing you to fall into that freeze response, and operate from a very reactionary place.
And here’s the real kicker: Just because you put your phone down, doesn’t mean your stress magically goes away.
It can take between 20-60 minutes for a non-threatening stress response to subside. But, the average person is checking their phone every 12 minutes, or 80 times a day. Which means we’re reinforcing the stress response, and keeping the brain hooked on empty dopamine.
Believe it or not, this is not bad news. It’s just information.
If you you've been here before, you've probably heard me say, "the more you understand something the better able you are at taking care of it, and the more creative you can be with your self care."
That’s why it’s important that you understand things like stress, where it’s coming from, and how it's affecting you.
And that’s what we’re doing here at CMC.
We’re deepening our self awareness so we can embrace and understand who we are, while improving our body literacy so we can make sense of how we function.
Stress is just a signal that something needs your attention. And the more aware you become of all the sneaky ways that stress can creep into your life, the more prepared you are to manage it.
You are living in an ever-changing body in a demanding, ever-evolving world, that’s always going to present you with new challenges.
That means stress is a fact of life. But it doesn’t mean you’re doomed to be broken by it. You have the power to manage it in your favor, and I want to teach you how.
If you’re a Patreon member, don’t forget to snag today’s bonus content which is a social media use and mood tracker, and some journal prompts. And if you’re not a member, would like to support my work and score these bonus bits, signing up is cheap and easy, and they’re no commitment.
Alright, my friend. I love you.
I appreciate you.
And I’m so proud of you for showing up today.
I’ll see you soon.
