Ever feel stressed by your work/life juggle?
Maybe these signs sound familiar…

So, you’re sitting at your computer feeling anxious - your heart is pumping harder than usual, your teeth are clenched, your jaw is tight, your tongue is at the roof of your mouth, your hand is strangling your computer mouse, your shoulders are up near your ears and even your feet feel tense.

The good news is that you can take control to minimise anxiety and feel less stressed – and that means better things for both your business life and your life as a mother.

Understanding how your body operates is a good start.

The prefrontal cortex of your brain tells your body about the world around you, and it uses memories to make an action plan for your behaviour. For example: you might have a blog post due today and so you’re stressing about whether it will be any good, or perhaps whether you’ll have time to complete the blog post, as well as give the kids a bath. As you worry about your day, your anxiety is high.

That means that the amygdala area of your brain (the fight/flight centre) is firing like mad, thinking that your worries and anxiety are similar to you being trapped in a forest with a bear nearby. Unfortunately, the amygdala doesn’t think about what is making you anxious - it just feels anxiety and reacts quickly.

The prefrontal cortex, though, is a bit more rational. It thinks about being anxious - then it compares it to your past experiences. It knows that you’re not anxious about a bear and that you’re actually anxious about your workload. It tackles the anxiety more calmly and more productively than your amygdala does. The problem is, though, your amygdala often wins the anxiety battle over the prefrontal cortex – and that can make you feel heightened, agitated, tense, and ready to pounce on any child who approaches you while you’re at your computer.

What can you do about it?

Try putting your rose-coloured glasses on.

What does that possibly do?

Rose-coloured glasses enable you to look around and take a positive view on your life at this exact moment. And as you are sitting there with your rose-tinted glasses on, your brain becomes more relaxed, your tongue comes away from the roof of your mouth, your shoulders relax. You look around your environment, telling yourself to relax, it’s just a blog post – and the kids aren’t killing each other, they’re just playing in the background. Plus, you have a roof over your head – you’re not out in a forest, battling a bear.

Within 5 minutes of wearing those rose-tinted glasses, your body is more relaxed, and you are more focused on your task of typing that blog post. Your amygdala has been told by your prefrontal cortex to calm down: the situation doesn’t involve a bear; it just involves a laptop and some hyperactive children. And you can cope with that…

Robyn Papworth is an Exercise Physiologist/Behavioural Therapist. You can connect with Robyn at www.move4health.com.au.