Pam Strand: Hello, this is Pam
Strand, your podcast host, and

welcome to the Longevity Gym.

Today's longevity conversation is
about answering the question, how do

you manage your stress and anxiety?

This question was posted in an online
community that I'm part of, and I was

very interested in the conversation.

This question is something I
have been exploring for the

last three to four years.

You see, stress is my nemesis,
and if I'm being really honest,

it's been my nemesis for pretty
much all of my professional life.

I'm in the process of completing a
coaching certification in this area, and

the course materials have opened my eyes.

To two things.

One, that stress is not just what
we worry about, and two, that how we

recover from stress or recover from the
demands and challenges we experience

in life ultimately determines whether
stress is beneficial to us or not.

I've used the courses framework
to evaluate my stress levels, to

see where stress is occurring in
my life, and to learn how I could

improve my recovery practices.

It's really all of these things, being
aware of your stress, intentionally

manage them and incorporating
recovery practices into your schedule.

These are the things that encompass
the concept of stress management.

I'm often asked the best way
to restore the energy that we

all seem to lose as we age.

I believe a big part of restoring
and then maintaining our energy as

our body gets older is through stress
management and through being far more

mindful than we were in our younger
years to factor into our days, very

intentional recovery time and practices.

It's in strategically managing our
stress and intentionally managing

our recovery that we restore and
even increase our energy levels.

So I thought I would share with you what
I do in my journey in the hope that it

might give you some ideas and how you
could manage or maybe better manage your

stress and recovery so you have the energy
you want to have to enjoy your life.

The important thing I've learned
is to acknowledge that stress and

how we manage and recover from
stress is a highly personal process.

Not only does it take us to areas in
our life where we might not want a

light shown and where we might want to
keep what we find personal, but it's

also personal because what we view and
experience as stressful is unique to us,

our body, and our life circumstances.

And what our bodies and minds need to
recover from stress is also unique to us.

But we certainly can learn
from other people's journeys.

In this online group, the members
shared what was working for them.

And I do many of the things that
were mentioned in this conversation,

breath work, using specific breath
work techniques, meditation,

mindfulness, walking in nature,
getting out in the sunshine.

And combining moving and breathing
together in a mindful practice,

that's really something that's
fun and meaningful to me.

But in my journey, I realized
that this was not enough for me,

at least at this point in time.

Yes, they do rebalance my body
and my mind in the moment.

But they aren't enough to rebalance my
body and bring it back to the baseline

energy levels on a consistent basis.

I can tell I'm not there because my
energy levels And that feeling of ease

are not where I would like them to be.

My energy still feels a
little sluggish and heavy.

Plus I'm still working through
unwinding myself from some unhealthy

coping mechanisms that I seem to have
acquired during all my stressful times

and ones that I would like to remove
from my life, such as overeating, over

caffeinating, scrolling mindlessly
on social media and drinking that

extra glass of wine in the evening.

Another thing that I have learned is
that stress management and recovery from

stress does take some work retraining your
systems, particularly your nervous system.

And your systems and patterns of
thoughts and beliefs about stress

and its implications in your life.

There is a process called neuroplasticity
that occurs in the nervous system.

This simply means that the nervous
system, as well as the brain, can

change, grow, and get better through
their mechanisms for rewriting

and making new neural connections.

But it does take finding the right
set of practices and the right amount

of frequency and intensity that
makes a difference in your systems.

Simply put, one and done is not a
principle that works in the case

of managing stress and recovery.

It requires ongoing practice and effort.

Just like fitness.

I do use a wearable device to
measure my stress and recovery.

I monitor my resting heart rate,
my breathing rate, sleeping heart

rate, heart rate variability,
recovery score, and sleep score.

I know that sounds like a lot.

But that's the beauty
of a wearable device.

It consolidates all of this into one
place, creating your own individual

dashboard on how your body and its systems
are doing and responding to your life.

I'm currently testing a device that
has a stress index number, which

I find fascinating and shows the
activation of my sympathetic and

parasympathetic nervous systems.

It tells me how much my systems are
mobilized and on the go and how much my

systems are in relaxed mode where they
have the opportunity to recover and

actually adapt to the demands of my life.

This confirms my observations
that I still have a way to go.

And what I like about the data I get
from my wearable device is that I

have a lens of objectivity through
which to fine tune what I'm doing.

And that lens also keeps me
accountable and honest with myself

on what is working and what is not.

It is a mirror.

To you in your life, the view
is not always what you would

like to see, but it is the view.

Here are the big things
that I'm working on.

And before I list those, I want you to
know that these are definitely reducing,

reducing my stress levels and definitely
reducing the symptoms that I had.

The kind of the heart palpitations, the
chronic tight muscle, the foggy brain.

They're also helping me manage my
stress more effectively, and they're

reducing the frequency of the random
exhaustion I would feel from time to time.

But most importantly, I'm sleeping better,
my energy is up, and there's a greater

sense of ease and satisfaction in my days.

And plus, I can feel my creative
energy coming back, which

is really important to me.

So here's my list of five, one, I'm
doing a better job at managing the

mental and emotional demands that
come from my line of work, which is

working one on one with people who
are creating change in their lives.

My coursework taught me that this is a
real demand on coaches, personal trainers,

healthcare providers, therapists.

I never gave it a thought, nor did I
ever factor it into my considerations

of client load, work hours, and my
overall schedule where I would schedule

lunchtime breaks, uh, times to de stress.

And this has been an eye opener to me
and something that I really do want to

and need to factor into how I organize
my work, especially now that I'm creating

a new chapter in my professional life.

Post pandemic.

I do want to do a better job of
proactively managing the demands

on me, my body and my mind.

I realize I can no longer just
throw myself at my work and expect

to be able to sustain being at my
best for my clients and for myself.

That just leads to burnout or almost
burnout, which I've experienced more times

than I would like to admit in my life.

I have made several changes to my work.

I've reduced my client load.

I've decreased my work hours and I set
healthier boundaries around how much I

give myself to my work and to my clients.

As I said, this type of stress was
a big eye opener from the course.

It has me very curious about other
ways that my mental and emotional

energy gets stressed and drained.

I'm getting serious thought to what being
online and on electronic devices and

screens so much of my workday does to
my brainwaves and to my mental stress.

I know I get better sleep and am more
present in my life when I have fewer.

hours of screen time.

I just haven't quite figured out what the
balance is yet, but I'm very fascinated

about this aspect of doing online work.

The second thing on my list, I have
increased the amount of time I am

around my most positive, supported
friends and family, and the amount

of time I'm around people in general.

I live by myself, I work from home, and I
live in a very quiet apartment building.

I can go days without much human
connection, and I learned that people

not only help us manage stress, but
being around people in positive,

supportive, joyous ways also helps
us down regulate from stress.

In other words, people help us recover
from stress and then return to our

steady, dynamic equilibrium of energy.

In fact, the lack of social connections,
and this is something else that I've

learned from the course, that the lack
of social connections, specifically the

type and the frequency of interactions
that match your preference and needs,

is a form of stress in and of itself.

As humans, we are wired to be connected,
and when we are not, our systems can

interpret that as a threat to our
survival and respond accordingly.

It keeps us, our systems
in this situation, keep us

alert and keep us mobilized.

In addition to being about being around
friends and being around more people,

I also work to put more joy in the
littlest of interactions that I have.

I'm smiling, waving, sharing a word.

With people I encounter during my day,
whether that's at the coffee shop, at the

dog daycare place, in the checkout line,
at the grocery store, or during my walks.

It is quite fun and actually
very rejuvenating and

increases my energy levels.

The third thing on my list, I've
shifted my exercise and movement to

be more restorative than vigorous.

My strength training is less intensive
than it was and includes more

body weight and simple movements.

My aerobic exercise is light to
moderate and I do more moving

and breathing just for fun.

I'm also being very careful
with intense exercise.

I know I need intensity from a
health and fitness perspective and

a good bout of intense exercise is
a great way to burn off some stress.

But over the long run, I've learned it
can add to a chronic stress level in my

body and from a longevity perspective,
increasing the accumulation of stress on

the body can actually speed up the aging
process, causing us to lose more of that

vital energy we seek to enjoy our life.

My fourth area of focus is nutrition.

Nutrition is an area that I know
is ripe with opportunities for me

with respect to managing stress,
reducing anxiety, and improving my

ability to bounce back from stress.

I'm doing more investigation and studies
here on what is going to work for me.

But in the meantime, I'm
making some small, simple wins.

I am making sure I'm getting more nutrient
dense foods in my diet wherever I can,

making sure I have the right amount
of protein in my diet, I'm eating at

consistent times and I'm staying hydrated.

And I'm also working to stick
with one cup of coffee a day and

drink wine infrequently if at all.

These two things can
amplify stress and anxiety.

And fifth and finally boundaries.

I am working to stay very tuned in
to where I need to set boundaries.

If I feel my energy getting
zapped or frazzled, I pause

and I take a look at that.

I heard someone once say, the
point in which you lose yourself

is the place you need a boundary.

And I'm trying to put that
in practice in my life.

I have far more boundaries which
honor what is healthy and best for me.

I pay attention to how much I give of
myself and my energy to my work, to

people, to various situations in my life.

I have found there's a fine line here,
but it equates to say, to the saying of

putting on your own oxygen mask first
before helping others put theirs on.

It's not selfish.

to manage your energy in a way
that is most healthy for you.

That way you can in turn do your best
work and be at your best self when you

are interacting with others, whether that
be in your personal or professional life.

So that's my list.

The five main things that I am
doing to get better at managing

stress and recovery in my life.

Those five things again are,
one, getting better at managing

my mental and emotional stress.

Two, I'm increasing the time and
frequency of social connections

that are most supportive,
energizing, and meaningful to me.

And three, I'm shifting my
exercise to more restorative

rather than vigorous at this time.

, four, I'm getting myself and my
mindset ready to tackle my nutrition

so that my body can be less stressed
and recover more effectively.

And in the meantime, I'm putting back
into place some important nutritional

habits that are easy wins for me.

And finally, number five, I'm
setting boundaries that honor what

is healthy for me and my energy.

I hope that this discussion has provided
a nugget or two for you to improve

how you manage stress and recovery
so that you can have the energy

you would like to enjoy your life.

Be sure to email me if you have any
questions or would like to share

any breakthrough or aha moments
that you experienced while listening

and pondering this podcast episode.

My email is Pam at strand fitness online.

com.

It's also in the show notes below, and I
invite you to sign up for my newsletter.

If you're not already on my
email list, my newsletters go out

about every two weeks in them.

I announced new podcast episodes and ways
to work with me, and I also share tips

for living longer, stronger, and better.

You can use the signup form
in the show notes below.

So that's a wrap.

Thank you for tuning in and
I will see you next time.