Why you find it difficult to switch off after work

You’ve turned off your laptop after a long day of work.

It’s time to settle and relax, yet you’re finding it difficult, instead you feel wired, on edge and you’ve got a to-do list still at the back of your mind.

At the same time, you know it doesn’t have to be this way.

With the right knowledge and practices, you can easily transition from a high stress meeting to quality family time and deep relaxation.

So in this place, what could be happening?

Relaxing doesn’t feel safe for you
You’ve had a busy day, your work feels high pressure. In this kind of environment, where stress and anxiety become frequent, unless you’re regularly tapping into an internalised resource of safety, your mind and body stay in a state of perceived threat.

In this state, you consciously or unconsciously look for threat (what could go wrong) and downplay signals of safety. Here, relaxation feels unsafe, because your mind and body are anticipating what could be coming.

Your cortisol levels are up
In an ideal world, you’d start your day with your cortisol levels at their highest point (this helps you get up and go). Throughout your day they would gradually taper down, reaching their lowest point before bed, allowing you to relax and sleep.

However, when you’re dealing with chronic stress or anxiety you might be dealing with chronically elevated cortisol levels or consistently spiking your levels throughout the day (maybe every time you get an email from *that colleague*). In this state, relaxation feels impossible!

Your sympathetic nervous system (SNS) is consistently at an elevated level of activity.
High cortisol and increased SNS activity generally go hand in hand. Part of the SNS’ job is to moderate energy levels and with increased SNS activity comes an increase in available energy throughout the body.

Your body wants you to use that energy!

This state, as you might guess, isn’t too congruent with relaxation.

So, what can you do?

Embodied Safety
This is number one! Regularly connecting with an internalised resource of safety is not only going to help you feel calmer and more resilient throughout the day (so you can do that high pressure job, without the stress) but it’s also going to help you seamlessly transition from work to relaxation.

Practices to regulate your nervous system
Understanding your nervous system is the key to being able to recalibrate your state. Once you understand what’s going on in your nervous system, the principles of nervous system regulation and how different practices affect you, you can choose yoga, meditation or breath practices to help you quickly transition from where you are, to where you’d like to be.

I’ve taught these techniques and practices to so many people and seen incredible results.

✨ I & my clients have used these techniques to quickly recalibrate and re-approach high pressure situations from a place of mental clarity, allowing better decisions that to stay committed to (no more post decision regret!).

✨ I’ve used these techniques to feel confident and at ease giving talks and recording interviews.

✨ My clients have used these techniques to create *genuine regulation* (rather than others telling you that you seem so calm, when inside you actually feel frazzled).

✨ My clients have used these techniques to continue working in high pressure environments, while dropping the stress and overwhelm.

If you’re ready to make a change, send me a DM with the word ‘RESILIENCE’ and I’ll share with you my brand new group course focused on exactly this!