What would life be without stress? I've come to realize that, while unmonitored stress is harmful, stress itself is a necessary tension - an inescapable layer of inner emotion. Humans are intricate beings, and we naturally crave balance and equilibrium. Our nervous systems each have over 100 billion neurons that fire all day every day. No matter what, there’s always something triggering your internal and external feedback loops. There’s always something (or someone) that could use your attention. But, when life starts to pile up, we push things to the back burner as they slowly eat away at our minds. Life is so complex and constant that the stress that comes with it can be detrimental if you’re not paying attention.
Underlying stress affects more people now than ever, and half the time we don’t even know the damage it’s doing. It actually changes our behavior and causes negative thoughts to run through our minds, causing negative words to come out of our mouths, causing a negative lifestyle over time. It’s interesting how we feel the need to hide our stress and internalize it, like it's a secret we don't want others to find out. We try to deal with it on our own but, more often than not, that internal energy festers and bounces around and can eventually cause hypertension, mounting anxiety and who knows what else. That negative energy needs somewhere to go, and often it manifests through words and actions that have nothing to do with the actual cause of the stress. I sometimes wonder why there are so many mean people in the world (and on the internet), but maybe I should be helping those people recognize that stress has turned them into someone they never wanted to be in the first place.
HELP IS NEVER FAR AWAY
If all of this is starting to stress you out, you've come to the right place. This post is all about channeling inner anxiety and stress, recognizing it as a good thing, and using it as motivation for outward progress. I often re-read this post from Bassnectar's blog about Indicators; “An Indicator – your mind is letting you know that something in life needs your attention.” Stress is very much an indicator, but sometimes it’s difficult to pinpoint the cause. And it’s rarely singular; when multiple types of stress collide it becomes this sort of negative feedback loop and that could take some serious attention to detangle.
 Sources; graphic by RJ Morrow, quote found on Instagram | The point is, stress is natural and inevitable. It really can’t be avoided, and it shouldn’t be ignored. While you may not be able to change the type of stress in your life, you can change your perspective towards it. The way you react to stress is what really matters. In the spirit of Mental Health Awareness Month, Bass Network’s May Reaching Out Mission, and the fact that I’m reawakening my blog to share my voice - I’d like to offer three resources or pieces of advice to anyone looking to become one with their stress and learn how to focus it in a productive way. |
SUGGESTION #1: SELF-CHECK
| Tuning in with yourself is a great place to start. How can you properly take on external battles without a healthy internal state? Tara Anderson is a Bassnectar Ambassador who shared this suuuuper handy checklist for when things don’t feel okay. It has so many helpful check points that affect mental, physical and overall health, and reminders about our basic human needs that can be overlooked during times of stress. Read through it! It’s bound to help you in some way, no matter what you are or aren’t going through. You can also download it here and print some out to hang around town and help strangers who may need these reminders as well. Focusing your stress into helpful solutions will give you clarity and momentum when you feel stuck or paralyzed. Thank you Tara for sharing this! It’s one of the best resources I’ve seen in a long time. |  |
SUGGESTION #2: FIDGET TOYS
Don’t roll your eyes at this one just yet - while fidget toys are becoming a fad with children in school, I’ve become an advocate for them since I have firsthand experience that they can serve a really great purpose. Even though they are criticized for being more of a distraction than anything, I think that’s exactly what we need sometimes. If you’ve got loads of extra nervous energy, or if your brain is moving faster than your reality, fidget toys can be a great outlet to channel or expel that energy while keeping you focused on the task at hand. I have a fidget cube, basically a six-sided cube with a different texture or tinker feature on each side. When I was working Bassnectar Atlantic City, my mind was racing because I wanted to be on my A-game. I had a zillion things I was internally juggling, and I kept my fidget cube clipped to my belt loop the whole weekend for easy access. It helped keep me grounded and focused, and allowed me to release my extra mental energy in a healthy way. I’ll never work an event without one again! If you can relate to that ‘extra’ energy feeling or have anxiety in certain situations, you should definitely look into getting one.
SUGGESTION #3: FIND A NEW OUTLET
I was inspired by my friend Kevin Leahy, another Ambassador, who was talking about how great it is to try new things. I wholeheartedly agree, and believe that forming new habits is especially helpful for balancing your mental health (so is reconnecting to things you used to love to do!). It’s good to keep our mind and body guessing - and trying something new is a fun motivator for breaking a cycle you might find yourself in. I remember when I first discovered rock stacking. It’s exactly what it sounds like; just find some rocks and try to balance them on top of one another. It’s a meditative practice in many cultures and it also connects you to the Earth, creates art, and teaches patience and intent. It’s kind of like a nature puzzle, and you can’t really be taught how to do it - you just have to feel it out for yourself. But doing something new and learning as you go is the whole point - it’ll kick start your critical thinking and maybe even evoke a deeper connection you didn’t know was there. I highly recommend rock stacking (and have no shame sharing that my room is full of rocks I started collecting because I’m a weirdo - I even named some of them and rearrange the stacks regularly). Other possible outlets you could try out: painting/drawing, writing/journaling/blogging, photography, swimming, volunteering, running, meditating, tennis, hiking, jiu jitsu, reading, cooking, hula hooping, yoga, slacklining, gardening, water aerobics, learning an instrument, jewelry making, crafting… the list goes on and on! Jump in already 😃
Rock stacks I made at the beach in Rhode Island last summer.
The bottom line; tune in with yourself. Recognize when you’re stressed, learn how to best channel it, and be better prepared for it next time. I really can’t stress this enough - you have the power to make your stress work for you rather than against you! Don’t let it take years off of your life, don’t even let it ruin your day, just begin recognizing it and redirecting it in a productive way. Life is too wonderful to spend it being worried or distracted by negativity. Give one of my suggestions a try sometime - your inner self will thank you!
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