5 tips to quell election-season stress
TLDR: Today I bring you 5 simple tips to reduce your stress during election season… or really, any time your patience feels stretched and your nervous system is on edge. This transmission originally came through as a 20-minute podcast episode, so if you prefer to listen and be guided through the exercises, head over to Spotify or Apple.
Election season.
Who decided to place it during the holidays, anyway? Perhaps not the best decision, since holidays can be stressful enough on their own for many of us. But I digress.
I put together five tips to soothe your body, mind and spirit, and take your anxiety, tension or stress down a few notches. For the record, these tips work anytime you feel tense.
Before I even get to the tips, know this: uncertainty is certain and constant. If you think certainty is even available to you as a human being on planet earth, good luck with that. I find it helpful to keep a baseline awareness that there will always be uncertainty. We will never find safety in the certainty of the future, or if we do, it will be superficial and unsustainable.
Tip #1: Get an extra 30 minutes of sleep.
Set a reminder to get yourself into bed earlier. If you’ve got an iPhone, use the ‘Sleep’ setting to automatically come on at a certain time so your phone powers down. Rest is a revolutionary act. Feeling under-resourced? Get a bit of extra sleep. If you’re an entrepreneur, CEO, leader or parent, you likely cannot sleep later in the morning, as you’re leading teams, running meetings, handling issues or shuttling kiddos. Getting to bed 30 minutes earlier can change your entire outlook on the day, and help you feel even 1% more resourced. Try it tonight 💤
Tip #2: Relax your jaw.
Take a moment right now and notice the tension in your jaw; then relax your face and let your jaw hang slack while you take a few big, deep belly breaths. Imagine your jaw weighs 20 pounds. Feel it dropping toward the floor, and notice your eyes and brows lifting and softening. I did an entire podcast episode on relaxing the jaw, including instruction for a fantastic internal mouth massage that instantly relaxes your face like nothing else.
Tip #3: Tap it out with rapid EFT.
[This tip really is best listened to so you can sit back and simply follow along.]
EFT, or the emotional freedom technique, has been around for quite a while. You can find practitioners online who will lead you through tapping exercises. This one I learned from my teacher Melissa Tiers— it’s a rapid technique, so you can do it quickly anywhere and anytime, and it's pretty damn effective. A quick and simple rundown:
1. Take a few breaths and notice your anxiety or stress level, rating it on a scale from zero to 10. This is so that you know where you are.
2. Continue to take slow deep breaths as you bring your fingers to the top of your head and start tapping the crown of your head, repeating (internally or out loud) “I release and let this go.”
3. Bring your fingers to your third eye, keep tapping and repeat the phrase, “I release and let this go. I can release and I can let this go. I choose to release and I choose to let this go.”
4. Move your fingers to the side of your eye near your temple while continuing to repeat, “I release and I let this (sh*t) go.”
5. Move your palm over your clavicle points, tapping your chest. “I release and I let this go.”
6. Finally, wrap one hand gently around the opposite wrist so your fingers are on the inside pulse point. Close your eyes, inhale through your nose for 3-4 seconds, then exhale out the mouth for twice as long. Repeat two more breaths like this.
7. Release your hands and rest in stillness as you notice how you feel. Come back to that 0-10 intensity scale and give yourself another rating. Hopefully, we took your anxiety down a few notches.
Tip #4: Limit your media exposure.
During election season, it's tempting to be extra informed about every little thing. I would love to remind us that election poll predictions are often inaccurate. At this point, there is little to nothing we can do to impact the outcome, unless you’re making calls, writing letters or knocking on doors (bless you). Beyond that, I stand in the remembrance that the results will be what they're going to be. Yes, we can hold the vision, advocate and stay positive. And ultimately, the decision will be made by the people of this country, so please do your best to not doom forecast or dwell in the future. Come back to the rapid EFT and create some specific, measurable media limits. Find a healthy balance and also give yourself plenty of time to rest, laugh, go outside, take walks and be with your dogs, cats, horses, friends, lovers, teachers or whoever/whatever fills your cup!
Tip #5: Remember everything is transient.
Your body, beauty, money, spouse, friends, children, pets, home, business, company, everything that you love and hold dear, you will lose. This is one of the five gates of grief as taught by Francis Weller. We are all going to die and fall away. Everything we have built and all we are is a momentary blip in the grand scheme of things. We will decompose and become luscious compost for what's new and fresh. This too shall pass. So hold that in your heart. Hold that remembrance close to you as you navigate the emotions moving through you.
I wish you blessings of peace, presence and abundance as we move through this autumn season. And if you try these techniques out, please hit reply and let me know!
And hey, if there’s a topic that you’d love me to talk about in the realms of mental and emotional well being, scheduling or productivity, prosperity or creativity, reach out to submit a question! Because I love roaming these playgrounds with you.
Wishing you well, dear one, this season and beyond!
In your corner,