Hello and welcome to Note 5 of 12. In the last note, we looked at the stress response. In this note, you are going to learn about how to build some resistance to stress.

An important strategy for altering your response to stress is to increase your physical resistance to it. This might include exercising, eating a well-balanced diet and getting enough sleep.

Another way is to change the stress response directly, which includes:

1. Creating distance between you and the stressful situation. Perhaps go for a walk as this can get the blood flowing in your body and help your brain release chemical messages that will actually help you feel better.
2. Breathe. When we become stressed, we tend to take more shallow, rapid breaths, some people even hold their breath. This is why it is a good idea to try to breathe with your diaphragm. Keeping one hand on your abdomen, try to take deep breaths that fill your stomach.

There are more tips and ideas on our dedicated How to cope with stress Pathway.

Remember: To change your response to stress, you must increase your physical resistance to it. There are a number of ways to tackle this and different methods work better for some compared to others.

Action: Which of the techniques listed above have you tried? Try to come up with three methods that you can use in order to build your resistance to stress.

In the next note, we’ll explore how gender stereotypes affect communication.

And don’t forget: You are valuable. You are powerful. You can do this!

Your friends at Soul Medicine