April is Stress Awareness Month and normally the mere mention of this would cause my blood pressure to rise, but  this year I am celebrating.  It has been 18 months since I received my generalized anxiety diagnosis, when I was at my lowest point and was so stressed out, I cried at the drop of a hat.  And I don’t mean a tear or two, I mean full-on sobbing and taking hours to calm down.  I had reached the point where I was so afraid of the consequences of any action I took, I was frozen (and crying).  Getting a diagnosis and a treatment plan was a lifesaver-I remember distinctly after I started medication, feeling extremely happy, and thinking to myself “wow, is this how other people feel?  They aren’t afraid as soon as they wake up?  They don’t walk around with existential dread in the pit of their stomach all of the time?”  This was a monumental step for me-it was the first time in years that I did something for myself.  It was also a huge benefit for my family because I returned to my old self and had a sense of humor again.  No one had to walk on eggshells around me anymore. I was able to enjoy my life without worrying about the what-ifs that may come down the road (or not).

Part of my treatment plan also included setting boundaries between work and home.  As an athletic director, I do work a good amount of evening hours supervising games and events, which can be difficult to also have balance with my family.  I’m thankful that this is typically seasonal and my family knows that August and September are wild for me, but the rest of the year is manageable.  This doesn’t mean that I don’t have things in place for August in September.  For example, when we hit the first day of school, I have a very tight turnaround to do team evaluations, set rosters, meet with coaches, and get everything ready for the first days of practice.  I give myself the first 2 weekends of the school year to bring work home-I have made it so it’s not as much work as it used to be, but I know there is no way to avoid this.  After these 2 weekends, I strive to keep all work during work hours.  I communicate to my coaches that they are welcome to call or text in an emergency situation, but if it is something that can wait until the morning, please email me.  This was a skill that took me years to learn and practice, but I am finally at a place where I have more balance during my busy season.

 For 7-8 years, I dealt with work stress, navigating raising neurodivergent children and school, and working on a second master’s degree.  Then all of a sudden, I woke up 60 pounds heavier, elevated blood pressure, and barely able to cope with my anxiety.  How did this happen?  Sneakily. I have spoken before about my dislike of vegetables and the mistake that was for my health.  The other sneaky thing that happened was I was a former cardiac rehab exercise physiologist-I knew the dangers of a high fat diet, so I had a good routine of picking low to no fat foods.  However, no one ever told me about the stress response and cortisol levels.  While I thought I was fine, my cortisol levels were through the roof and because my body was in fight or flight mode all of the time, it felt the need to gain or hold onto weight “in case of an emergency”.  Due to fight or flight, my body also craved carbohydrates all of the time because this is a quick, easily digestible food that provides energy.  The most easily digested and usable is sugar, so what I thought was just a little handful of chocolate covered almonds here or there, a couple fun sized pieces of chocolate every other day, and so on, over time really put on a lot of weight.  

There are a lot of things I wish I had done for myself sooner, but the number one thing I wish I did was talk to my doctor about my anxiety and how I was feeling.  Once I had a diagnosis and treatment plan, I was able to get my cortisol levels under control.  When my cortisol was better controlled, I was able to focus more at work, at home, and be more present with my loved ones.   With my stress under control, I was finally able to lose weight with dietary changes.  

As we celebrate Stress Awareness Month, I hope you will reflect on your own stress.  Learn from my mistakes and don’t minimize your stress’s impact on your health or on your life.  We are all strong people, but we don’t need to power through stress and anxiety to prove it.  Perhaps the strongest move you can make is taking that first step to admit to yourself that something is not right.  Perhaps it’s asking for help from a loved one or a doctor.  It is okay not to be okay and it doesn’t have to feel this way forever.  

As a special gift to you, I am giving you access to my Stress Impact survey.  This can be your first step to assessing how stress is affecting your body and give you an idea of areas to start improving your health.  You can find the survey here.  

If you are ready to change your status quo and break free from the hold of the daily grind, click here to schedule an appointment for a free consultation and we can talk about how I can help you create a life-changing health plan, one sustainable step at a time.