There are different types of stress that we have to deal with throughout our lives. Trauma, or toxic stress, is when a subjectively perceived event overwhelms our capacity to cope. It usually involves a sense of fear and helplessness. Events like family pressure, violence, or loss of a loved one can become traumatic. However, just because someone has a stressful event or situation occur it does not mean it will be toxic.
Everything Doesn't Overwhelm Us
There are many factors that play a part in whether or not it will become overwhelming to us. For example, if a trusted adult in our lives helped us understand the event or offered reassurance that we were safe, the stress we experienced may not overwhelm our ability to function. We were protected from the stress and better able to deal with it.
If our caregivers aren't available - or they are the cause of the stress - it may become chronic and unrelenting. Stress often becomes toxic when it's unbuffered by our caregiver(s) or we experience the stress in isolation. Our bodies get stuck in a state of trying to find safety. This means we are trying to deal with our stress all the time.
Not All Stress is Bad
It's important to remember that stress and trauma are part of the human experience and it's completely normal to have events in our lives that are challenging. How we respond to the event is the most important.
At Vikara Village we believe everyone has or will experience toxic stress at some point in their lives. We also believe everyone has the ability to recover and heal from it.
We believe through the development and nurturing of healthy coping skills we can help lessen the overwhelming feelings of stress and give our participants the ability to better handle stress in the future.
How to Reduce Toxic Stress
1. Build resilience.
Here at Vikara Village, we define resilience as our ability to bounce back. We know that stress will happen - it's part of our lives. We also know life will get challenging sometimes. With resilience, you're able to experience the stress and move through the various emotions and sensations you'll experience along the way. When the next obstacle comes along, you'll be better equipped to deal with life's ups and downs.
2. Have a great support network.
A key to building resilience is to have a great support network. Having caring, trusting and supportive friends, family, teachers and/or mentors is one of the best ways to help build our ability to bounce back. It's really hard to live your life in isolation without other people around. When we're surrounded by people we trust, who care about us and our well-being, we know they have our backs when things get tough.
3. Move your body.
Trauma and toxic stress lives in the body. Our bodies hold on to so much of our story, even parts of our story we don't have words to express! Moving your body through yoga, dancing, going for a walk, or any other movement you find fun, helps to improve your health and wellbeing. Through movement and exercise, you release endorphins, which are chemicals naturally produced in our bodies to help us feel happier and relieve stress.
Remember, trauma is part of the human experience. We won't be happy all of the time and that's okay. To help us better stress in the future, building resilience is key.
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