First Aid for Stress is a holistic recovery plan
which uses our 7-phase recovery model
AND 8-area healing wheel.
Phase 1: The Root Cause – the unknown
This is the area with which most of us need help and education. There are factors we were not taught or made aware of as children that have innocently placed us in a vulnerable position – because of this, your resilience to stressful/ difficult/ traumatic events and experiences is impaired. When this occurs, whether you realise it or not, your body starts to experience the ripple effect of physical, mental and emotional symptoms of stress and tension.
Phase 2: The Known – early warning signs and symptoms
You can be in this phase for months or years. Your body is on high alert. You feel anxious and/or tense most of the time. You are short-tempered, full of nervous ‘jittery’ energy, constantly worrying and expecting the worst. Overwhelmed, you experience ‘brain-fog’, and your memory starts to fail you. You may uptake or increase your use of tobacco, alcohol, prescribed or non-prescribed drugs, unhealthy foods and risky behaviour. You often get viruses, colds and the flu.
If unaddressed, this phase can preclude Burnout, Depression, Addictive Behaviour or other long-term health issues, such Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (M.E.), also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) or fibromyalgia (FM)
Phase 3: The Breakdown – the final straw, the crash
Either your ‘normal’ life has changed significantly or it’s been so bad for so long that you simply can’t take any more. Simple acts such as personal hygiene, self-care, food preparation and even communicating with others are difficult or completely draining.
You are beyond tired and wired. Emotional outbursts and melt-downs are common. You KNOW something needs to change, but you just don’t know how or what.
During this time, it is common to experience the escalation of severe low moods and/or depression, as well as unhealthy actions and behaviours.
Phase 4: Call the Mechanic!
In this phase, you seek advice, guidance and support from others. Please be aware that this can be a drawn-out process! Desperate for answers, we try various techniques and service providers. We scan the internet or ask friends. This often leads to frustration, confusion, more overwhelm or anxiety. Thankfully, this phase can be quick for you.
Phase 5: The Work – doing what it takes.
Phase 5 is all about information and learning. Nurturing, nourishing and feeding your body and mind is paramount to your long-term recovery and resilience.
Once skilled in this knowledge, you are in the position to make intelligent change – to further improve your core values, actions and behaviour.
As your self-care improves and toxic elements are dropped, you notice that you feel better. You increasingly look after your physical body and mental/emotional well-being. In time, this becomes ‘the norm’.
Phase 6: Relearning and Relapsing
Freeing yourself from the past can be a slow process. Sometimes we slip into old habits or simply stop doing things that were working well (just because…).
When using the FIRST AID FOR STRESS programme, there are target areas for improvement. Always go for the simplest areas first. That way, you build your confidence and skill set faster, making your personal healing easier and more straightforward.
Once you feel that you’re in a far better place, it’s time to review and tackle another target area.
Be kind to yourself. Please recognise that learning what causes you to drop back into old patterns and behaviours (relapse) is the most crucial of your journey.
Phase 7: Recovery
In the recovery phase, you recognise stressful triggers, toxic situations and people and drama makers. More importantly, you know how to avoid them!
You guard your energy, quality of life, space and peace above all else. You honour your well-being by eating healthily, exercising, spending time in nature, getting adequate, restful sleep and doing a variety of things with your life that make you happy.
You recognise how your former lifestyle had inadvertently abused your body, mind and spirit.
You will never go back there.
Did you figure out which phase you are in?
Phase 1 and Phase 3 are times when I can best offer the solutions that you need to make significant improvements to how you feel today, providing you implement some of what you learn. With FIRST AID FOR STRESS, this is both fast and effective.
Phase 1 and Phase 4 are the optimum times to ‘do the work’. During this time, relapse is common; please don’t worry! Relapse is simply part of the learning curve, and, as you continue to apply your understanding(s), relearning occurs. This requires some or a large amount of effort, depending on the individual.
Let’s talk about relapse, renewed symptoms and recovery
Many people struggle with the relapse and recovery stages. Often, we do not complete the transmute stage of the ‘three Ts’, I’ll explain them in a minute, but for now please know it is the number reason that we fail.
There can be various reasons why. A common one is that we are guilty of seeking ‘easy’, quick-fix solutions to our issues.
Another is that we do not realise exactly what is involved in the creation of long-term stress and fatigue, how they affect our health nor to what extent.
Remember, this programme isn’t just about your physical health and well-being, it’s about increasing your energy, happiness and peace levels.
You will learn how to improve the quality of your life, make slicker choices, spend meaningful time with the people you love or prepare for a new relationship or job!
Within your life, there will be across-the-board ‘undesirable’ aspects that create stress, pressure and buckling. These may include personal relationships, your job, company and co-workers, your fitness levels, health and well-being and your finances. If you were to consider them individually, with a view to keeping the good stuff and either dropping, replacing or upgrading the other stuff, you would, no doubt, feel significantly better.
Creating the best version of your self – your recovery.
To start the process, you will need to bridge the gaps in your understanding of what happens in your body when you experience any form of physical, emotional or spiritual stress.
Then, you will need to make meaningful changes in obvious areas, such as nutrition, sleep and relationships, alongside gaining a deeper understanding of your body’s requirements.
All the information you need is found in the First Aid for Stress online coaching programs. Remember, we are in this together! I am here to support and guide you and the friends you’ve yet to meet are part of our online community
There Are Three Recovery Stages in total.
The first two stages of your healing journey are achieved Phase 1 – 5.
The first, transform is when you make initial changes. The second recovery stage, transcend, is the time you move away from the toxic elements of ‘the problem’
Once you have achieved stage two your recovery is on track. Continuing with the program moves you from Phase 6, working to Phase 7.
This is the final recovery step –Transmute – here you
anchor the changes, permanently, to create a ‘better version of you’
In my experience, both personally and professionally, the biggest source of ‘relapse’ is the transmute stage.
Quite simply, you have to do the work! I offer you the reminder that ‘knowing’ is not doing!
As the risk of stating the obvious, ‘anchoring the change’ – that is, continuing to do the things that work for you – is far easier (physically and emotionally) than not doing so. ‘Not’ creates confusion, frustration and anger.
The First Aid for Stress Healing Wheel.
There are 8-aspects:
Emotional + Mental Well-Being – This is your strengths, emotions, talents, innate gifts and personality.
Environment – This includes your home, work-space, furnishings, equipment, technology and outside (nature, seasons, and the cycles of life).
Finance + Career – This covers your money, savings and budgeting.
Food + Nutrition – This targets the support of your Adrenal Glands and your Thyroid Gland, as well as introducing healthy nutrition to balance your body, replenish your energy levels and maintain a healthy weight.
Positive Physical Health – This is your health, well-being and energy levels.
Relationships – This includes your relationship with yourself, with family members, friends, colleagues, community members and strangers.
Relaxation + Fun – This is your ability to relax both your body and mind, as well as your mobility, strength and flexibility.
Spiritual Purpose + Peace – This describes your connection with a higher source, love and Ultimate Self.
Once you have completed the self-evaluation task, 90 statements, you circle the *things you already do* you added up your total number of circled statements for each Aspect, and mark them on the relevant point of the wheel (below).
That way you pinpoint exactly where you are today and, more importantly, give you instant access to choose exactly what you want to do to create the change and up-level.
Each month you re-run the self-evaluation to progress check.
You will probably find that several areas require some improvement.
Please don’t worry about that right now and know that you are not alone in this. The good news is that as you tackle one area, others improve as a by-product.
My advice. Go for the easiest elements to improve first. The low-hanging fruit. That way, you improve your self-esteem, your sense of achievement, and you like and love yourself a little more. As you build your momentum, micro-changes tend to occur fast. Remember the good news, as you tackle one area, others improve as a by-product.
Turboboost your results with Accelerate our 14-part programme.
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