Be Still…and Stress Less
As we enter these last months of the year, full of extra activities, holidays, gatherings, expectations and emotions, it’s a good time to practice some stress-relieving tools!
It's estimated that 75-90% of medical visits are stress-related. That’s a nearly 50 year old statistic, but the more recent stats aren’t much better. The American Psychological Association published its “Stress in America 2023” findings at the end of last year and the numbers are up for all age groups, with women consistently reporting higher stress levels than men. Surprising? Not so much.
Given the glum statistics, this month I want to share some of the ways that you can better handle the stress that you’re dealing with day in and day out. I want to share with you how to recharge: to fill up your capacity to better handle all the demands of your life. Giving our minds, our bodies, and our spirits this recharge time really does wonders for our stress!
Why we need to “be still” and get a handle on our stress
Our brain is designed to keep us safe, and it does a really, really good job at doing that.
We need to be able to slam on the brakes to avoid a collision or grab a child’s hand before he dashes into the street. When those things happen, the stress is temporary and our body comes down off that burst of adrenaline and cortisol.
However, being constantly in fight-or-flight mode, constantly in stress, has some pretty negative impacts on our physical and mental health. It increases inflammation, hampers our immune system, bogs down our focus and mental clarity, harms our cardiovascular system, and more — it’s not good!
“Be still and know that I am God.”
As part of my Reframing Stress talk, whether it’s for a group of moms at a playgroup or a group of all ages, I always share Psalm 46:10 (verse 11 in some translations) — “Be still and know that I am God.”
I hear this verse as both an invitation and a command. Sometimes it’s Jesus comforting me. Other times I imagine He’s chiding me like a parent, reminding me of what I’m supposed to be doing and that I need to trust Him. It’s a great verse to sit with, especially when you’re feeling stressed out.
Ten years ago, my therapist told me that he’d once heard this verse translated as “Cease striving and know that I am God.” That translation really struck me and I’ve come back to it consistently over the years.
How much of my stress and anxiety is because:
I’m striving instead of being still?
I’m pushing too hard instead of trusting in God’s goodness?
I’m being an overachiever instead of resting in the knowledge that I am loved just as I am?
I’m trying to do it all on my own instead of sitting at the feet of Jesus? Being all Martha and no Mary?
How can we be still, cease striving, and let go of some of that stress?
I think we need to take our first cue from that scripture: “Be still and know that I am God.”
How to “be still”
When we learn — and we might actually have to learn! — how to relax and how to have an inner or outer stillness, we give ourselves that recharge moment, allowing our body to stop pumping out adrenaline and/or cortisol.
Here are a few ideas of ways you can be still, even if you’re constantly on the go or feeling like you have no time:
Plugging into prayer or meditation
Lighting a candle
Turning on relaxing music or a calming podcast
Watching hilarious YouTube videos just to laugh
Sipping a mug of something warm
Putting on your favorite fuzzy socks
Snuggling with a kiddo or a pet
Putting on some nice lotion
Stepping outside for a few deep breaths
An important word on prayer
Prayer isn’t a “stress hack”, it’s a conversation and a growing in relationship with the Lord. While prayer isn’t meant to be a solution to stress or therapeutic the way meditation is, there is something powerful about being still with the Lord that does help us when we’re stressed out.
When we call to mind the presence of the Lord and pray we naturally start to come out of fight-or-flight mode. We slow down. We breathe.
Simply noticing your breath helps to turn on your parasympathetic nervous system — the “rest and digest” as opposed to the “fight or flight”.
Coming to know Jesus more deeply through prayer enables us to trust Him more, which can make it that much easier for us to let go of, accept, or offer up the things that are stressing us out.
Final thoughts
As much as I love to talk to Jesus when I’m stressed out, and as much as prayer is helpful, I couldn’t write a blog about stress without sharing one of my favorite stress relieving tools: the lion pose. I’ve done it in the middle of my dining room, in the basement to escape the kids, and even in the bathroom at a bridal shower when I was feeling super overwhelmed.
Whenever I’m feeling stressed or anxious and I do this, I can feel my whole body relax after just a few moments. Watch this short reel to see how to do it yourself!
