We are two years into the pandemic. Can you believe it? Sometimes it feels like a lot longer than two years and sometimes I can't believe how quickly it has gone by. I was looking back at pictures from the first few months of the pandemic and a tightness grew in my chest.

I can still recall how scary it was when Covid first entered our lives. For me, there was this level of fear and uncertainty that I hadn't known before. We were all under so much stress, from having to make major pivots at work, (if you still had a job), wanting your family to be safe and healthy, homeschooling if you had kids, lockdowns, supply chain issues; the list goes on and on.

What most of us didn't have the time or bandwidth to deal with was the stress, fear, and anxiety that we were under. We just had to make sure that we, and our families, made it through the basics each day, safely.

The underlying stress, fear, and anxiety took a toll on us all. We just weren't always able to see it for what it was right away. For me, it sometimes meant sleepless nights, eating more sweets, fatigue, and fear popping up in unusual places.

A large chunk of my daily routine helps me deal with stress, fear, and anxiety. I have a daily meditation, pranayama, and yoga practice. But even with these practices there was still a lot going on under the surface.

I realized this the other day when I went out for a walk. There is a path I walked on during the pandemic which is off the beaten track. Whenever I went out on it I was one of the only people out there.

This is something that never would have bothered me in the past. I walk and hike by myself all the time and always have. I love being outside in nature by myself, it gives me that quiet time that this introverted girl craves.

The first day I went out for a walk by myself on this path I called Dave. I asked him if he thought it would be ok since no one else was around. He reassured me I would be fine but said he would check in with me in about an hour to make sure I was good.

I remember setting off on my walk and getting completely startled on the rare occasion I would bump into someone. There was this low level of fear and anxiety the whole time I was walking. This was an unusual feeling for me considering I usually go for a walk to help relive my stress and anxiety.

The other day I was back at the path after having been away from it for the last few months. I started out for my walk without even thinking about the fact that I probably wouldn't see anyone. It actually made me feel more relaxed.

When I was about halfway through it hit me how relaxed I felt. I realized that as the stress, fear, and anxiety that have been produced by the pandemic have decreased, my body and mind have been responding accordingly.

This realization was equally shocking and comforting to me at the same time. It also got me thinking about all the people who haven't been doing anything to regulate their nervous system and how they are feeling. If you haven't had any tools to get you out of fight, flight, or freeze, you may still be feeling the impacts of the stress, fear, and anxiety that the pandemic has produced.

Having an awareness and tools to help you manage your stress, fear, and anxiety are more important than ever. We all need to be able to down regulate our nervous system so that we don't get overwhelmed by all that we are feeling.

We have been in survival mode for 2 years now, wouldn't it be nice to remember how to thrive?

If you are having a hard time managing your stress, fear, and anxiety get in touch with me. Let's create a personalized plan with action steps so you can establish sustainable habits to manage your stress, get your energy back, and carve out time to make your health a priority. You will learn some simple mindfulness practices that you can do anytime, anywhere to help you show up for yourself and be present in your life; and have tools to help you notice when you fall off track so you can begin to see the old patterns that aren’t serving you and change them.

Let's do this! Click here to get in touch.