I want you to stop and recall when you had your last physical.
Write that date down.
Hopefully it wasn’t so long ago that you can’t remember when you had a physical.
If it was, I don’t want you to beat yourself up, but to take this time now to schedule a date to get a physical.
There are so many important reasons as to why you should get a physical, but the number one reason is to say to yourself that you in fact value everything about you.
Let’s be real.
We don’t get physicals for a lot of reasons.
The number one reason may be that we are afraid to find out something is wrong, but often more than we would like to admit, we don’t value ourselves. We feel like everyone else deserves more than we do.
Our kids, our spouses, our family, our friends, but we can WAIT.
NO, people, NO.
We are the most important person in our lives.
It all starts with us.
If we are going to be there for all these people, we must do it with a healthy mind, body and soul.
Are you with me so far?
I feel I can say this to you, because I was a ”’serial” take care of everyone else person.
I got up early, took care of everyone’s business, except my own.
Now as First Responders, we tend to do this with everything and everybody.
We are in control at all times.
I mean that in the most helpful sense.
So perhaps getting a physical makes us feel like not so in control, right?
I think that I can relate on so many levels with that.
Today ,I am going to ask you to recall when you had your last physical.
Write that date down, no matter what it looks like.
You are going to own it and then you are going to call your doctor’s office, or if you are in New Jersey, you are going to take advantage of a Gift from Captain Buscio, and you are going to schedule that physical.
Let’s start out with a quick exercise to help you get past any anxiety or stress this thought has created for you.
Stop, and take a deep breath.
Breathing, though it seems like it is too easy to be true, can help relieve your stress instantly.
Breathing drops your blood pressure and heart rate.
It takes you from your sympathetic nervous system to your parasympathetic system.
What it does is it helps down-regulate cortisol and adrenaline when in fight or flight mode and you need to relax*
People!!! This is why I tell you to practice this technique daily to help you relieve your stress and turn that mood around.
Try this exercise and I think you are going to like it.
Breathe in for 4 counts, hold your breath for 5 counts, then exhale for 6 counts.
This is an anchor for your attention that diminishes the chatter and takes you away from something stressful according to Julie Potiker a Mindful Self Compassion Teacher and the author of Life Falls apart, but you don’t have to: Mindful Methods for staying calm in the Midst of Chaos.
The breathing technique I find that is the easiest to accomplish especially when I am in my patrol car and I need a moment to release the tension that built up during a call.
There are benefits to this practice that are far beyond just relaxing.
When you take deep breaths you are also providing necessary oxygenation to your brain. This in turn will help you think better.
Who doesn’t need this when they are stressed out?
If you want to read up on proper breathing techniques, Dr. Belisa Vranich not only explains this but also has a ton of other useful information in the book, Breathe.
Researchers at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine conducted a study on thinking and breathing. What they found was that people who are in stressful situations took 20 breaths per minute in comparison to how adults normally will take 12 to 18 breaths per minute. In this study they discovered that the rhythm in which we breathe directly affects the activity in our brain. When you breathe in through your nose it stimulates the brain. *
Take time daily to relieve your stress.
Do something that resonates with you.
Stay safe friends.
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