Stress Resilience and How to Bounce Back from Stress with Suzi Fevens

Back in December I had a conversation with Suzi Fevens from Confessions of a Fitness Instructor on the podcast to chat about stress resilience and how to bounce back from a stressful point in our lives.

I wasn’t away of stress resilience so this was an eye opening conversation, and I know you’re going to love it.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links for your convenience. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Stress Resilience and How to Bounce Back Podcast Episode

Listen to the podcast by clicking the link above, and click through here to subscribe on your favorite podcast player.

Let’s get into the show notes.

How perfectionism can hold us back.

When we’re perfectionists we dive into maximizing. Maximizing is when you’re looking for the perfect something, but then you wait for the perfect one to come along, always thinking there is something better out there.

In the end you end up getting nowhere with your goal!

You can overcome this by making a decision on your first choice. Buy it and move on (from the cake plate example in the podcast episode).

What is stress resilience?

Stress resiliency is how quickly you bounce back after a stressor. An example could be a fight with a friend (anything that knocks you off your norm), it’s how quickly you can bounce back.

How is this different when we compare men to women?

We all have some issues with this. Men typically have better stress resilience than women and mothers.

Professional athletes have better stress resiliency because they take downtime seriously. They know they need to rest and recover.

How women and mothers are often the least stress-resilient.

Women and mothers are more prone to this because we tend to take on all the roles. Right now we’re working from home, cleaning the house, homeschooling, working out, cooking, etc. Not to mention our everyday worries and stressors and interactions with normal relationships.

How we can tap into better regulating ourselves and our nervous systems.

To overcome the stress resilience you need small pockets of time and take two deep rib expanding breaths to switch your nervous system response. It helps regulate your sympathetic nervous system (foot on the gas) to your parasympathetic nervous system (foot on the break).

Getting out of the stress response helps with digestion, sleep cycle, and better over all health. It helps shut off that flow of cortisol (the stress hormone).

Hot tip: Do these when you go to the bathroom! Take a few deep breaths. We’re sitting anyway, take a moment to breathe!

Meditations and meditations apps are a big help!

Short meditations and app resources

• Insight Timer
• Calm
• Breathe
• Simple Habit
• Headspace
• YouTube
• Mindfulness with Emily
• Yoga Nidra (linked in the YouTube hyperlink)
  

What is yoga nidra and how can it impact sleep?

Yoga nidra is a yodric sleep.

It’s a great way to help you go to sleep at night. It helps relax you and lower your stress response.

The cool thing about yoga nidra is 15-20 minutes is about as restful as an additional 4 hours of sleep. (Look for Jennifer Piercy on Insight Timer).

How 10-minute exercises/workouts every day can be more impactful than we think.

A 10-minute workout is more beneficial 6 times a week than one 60 minute workout once a week. You’re building in the repetition and it’s becoming part of your daily routine.

You’re getting more health benefits as well as exercise has a short half-life, so you get more throughout the week. Plus 10 minutes is easier than 1 hour!

Exercise is a stress release, whether it’s going for a walk or a workout helps so much. Yoga also helps increase GABA levels, even if it’s just 5 -10 minutes and it helps you get back in your parasympathetic response.

How much of feeling happy is actually within our control?

40% of happiness is in our own control. Studies show that people who win the lottery are only 10% happier for two years and then go down to their baseline.

However, people who start a gratitude practice/journal/go on daily happiness keeps increasing.

Gratitude practices and how to incorporate it into our lives depending on your level of comfort and commitment.

If you want to increase your happiness level try these:

• Live a healthier lifestyle. Look at food to fuel your body and what it does for your body.
• Say 3 things you’re grateful for, for that day at the beginning and end of the day.
• Try a future gratitude journal for three things your grateful for in your future.
• Have a journal and do one line per day and write the best thing that happened that day. Try this 5 Minute Journal.

Find Suzi here:

• Confessions of a Fitness Instructor
• WELL U | Virtual Fitness & Wellness Studio
• Instagram
• Wellness Simplified Podcast
• R&R Program

Also see:

• How to Make a Meal Plan Work with Sophia DeSantis
• Simple Nutrition Tips for New Moms to Stay Healthy
• 9 Unhealthy Habits That Sabotage Your Results