What would you do if I told you in one month you would have to run a half-marathon?

Like strength-training our muscles to lift heavier weights or endure longer physical stress, we can train our nervous systems to better manage mental and emotional stress.

When your sympathetic nervous system is triggered and your body is expecting to fight or run, it will remain in this state until your bodily response informs it that you are safe. Unfortunately, our advanced human interpersonal skills do not send a message via body language, informing our sympathetic nervous system that we are safe.

While there are many ways to send the proper message to your body, the trick is to physically exert energy (fight or flight) and then promote a feeling of safety. You can practice methods to calm your nervous system in an immediate moment of stress, and also prepare it for resiliency and quick recovery for moments of routine stress.

Here are some methods to try while in an immediate fight-or-flight...