How to Relieve Your Stress in Seconds

"A diamond is just a piece of charcoal
​that handled stress exceptionally well" 

​We all experience stress at some point in our lives, some of us may argue we experience stress at some point in each day. I agree with the latter statement. If we didn't experience stress we wouldn't bother to get out of bed. We would never accomplish anything. We would not worry about feeding our pets or children. We wouldn't care about keeping our jobs. Stress serves us in many ways, but not all stress was created equally.

Have you ever experienced stress so powerful that it made your heart race, brow sweat, muscles tense up or breath quicken? I'm sure we've all encountered a "fight or flight" response in our lives, and I'm going to teach you why this happens, and how to calm down in seconds. 

Fight or Flight

As per Harvard Health: 
This combination of reactions to stress is known as the “fight-or-flight” response because it evolved as a survival mechanism, enabling people and other mammals to react quickly to life-threatening situations. The carefully orchestrated yet near-instantaneous sequence of hormonal changes and physiological responses helps someone to fight the threat off or flee to safety. Unfortunately, the body can also overreact to stressors that are not life-threatening, such as traffic jams, work pressure, and family difficulties.

OK, so we can all agree that it's a good thing we have a fight or flight reaction, in case we ever find ourselves fighting a Grizzly Bear or something, but what about when our brain goes haywire over public speaking, a spider, an altercation at work, or someone cutting us off in traffic? 

​We need a way to communicate to our brain to let it know "while I appreciate you trying to protect me, this is ridiculous and it's time to calm the eff down!"

Beating Your Stress in Seconds

In the video blog below, I'm going to explain an awesome technique called EFT Tapping, it's a mix of Chinese Medicine and Neuroscience and it is seriously a game changer! 

I have used it in times of serious stress, like hyperventilating ugly cries, and it has helped relieve the overwhelming stress immediately. We are talking minutes from a 10/10 of stress to a 0. Unbelievable! 

So just to review, here are the steps:

1. The Setup: {Pick your most pressing issue & rate it 1-10} + {While tapping Karate Chop spot, repeat set up statement 3x} example: "Even though I feel this anxiety, I deeply and completely accept myself" or "Even though I’m having trouble breathing, I deeply and completely accept myself."
2. Tap That: Using the diagram below, begin tapping the seven meridian line points to send a pulse to the Amygdala, giving it a signal to calm the eff down. While tapping, dive into your fears rather than running from them. Experience the full array of emotions and get real and honest with yourself. The tapping will help relieve the stress you are expressing.
   
3. Reassess Your Stress Level: If you started the exercise at a 10/10, where are you after 3 rounds of tapping? Assess and continue to cycle (minus the Karate Chop) until you're down to a 1-0.
   
4. Positive Round: Once you have felt your stress come down to a 1-0, reward yourself with positive affirmations. Admire the work you have just done, and honour yourself. Affirm that you are safe, secure and loved. Affirm that you can handle anything that comes your way. Affirm that this situation will be okay, this too shall pass.
   

I truly hope this technique changes your life as much as it has mine. Please feel free to share this article with your loved ones, because who couldn't use a little help with stress?

Sending love, light and calm vibes,
​-L.K.