🛠️ Identifying Stress States
(Rest, Challenge, Approaching Overwhelm, Overwhelm)
What it is:
Recognizing which stress state you're in helps you make choices that support your body and energy.
How to Practice:
• Use the 4-state model to check in: Am I resting? Engaged? Stretched? Overwhelmed?
• Look for clues in your thoughts, urges, body, and environment.
• Label the state without judgment.
Why it helps:
This awareness lets you shift before you tip into burnout or shut down.
🛠️ Recognizing Body-Based Landmarks
What it is:
Your body gives early warning signs when you’re shifting stress states.
How to Practice:
• Notice physical sensations like tension, numbness, or fluttery energy.
• Track where you feel them (jaw, chest, belly, etc).
• Write down familiar patterns tied to each state.
Why it helps:
Tuning in to your body builds trust, emotional clarity, and self-protection.
🛠️ Timer Check-Ins
What it is:
A quick tool for checking in with your body, thoughts, and needs during the day.
How to Practice:
• Set a timer 2–3 times daily.
• Ask: What am I feeling? What do I need?
• Log it or say it out loud.
Why it helps:
Helps you interrupt autopilot and support yourself before overwhelm hits.
🛠️ Creating Boundaries with Yourself
What it is:
Gentle limits that protect your energy before you hit overwhelm.
How to Practice:
• Pick one area where you tend to push too far (like work or social media).
• Set a kind limit ahead of time—like a break after 90 minutes.
• Treat it like a commitment, not a punishment.
Why it helps:
Boundaries build self-trust and prevent emotional crashes before they happen.
🛠️ Noticing the Shift from Challenge to Overwhelm
What it is:
Catching early signs that your brain or body is tipping into shutdown mode.
How to Practice:
• Learn your “early clues”—like rushing, jaw clenching, or scrolling.
• Ask: Is this still feeling good—or am I forcing it now?
• Pause or reset if things start to feel like too much.
Why it helps:
You can shift gears before you burn out or crash.
🛠️ Reframing Stress as a Signal
What it is:
Instead of seeing stress as failure, view it as a message that something needs care.
How to Practice:
• When stress shows up, ask: What is this trying to tell me?
• Shift from judgment (“I’m a mess”) to curiosity (“What do I need?”).
• Respond with small acts of care instead of pushing harder.
Why it helps:
This turns stress into something useful—not shameful.
🛠️ Tuning In vs. Pushing Through
What it is:
A shift from ignoring your body to listening to it—even when it’s inconvenient.
How to Practice:
• Pause once during the day and ask: What do I feel right now?
• Choose care over productivity at least once a day (rest, movement, silence).
• Practice noticing when you’re “pushing past” and gently pull back.
Why it helps:
Helps reverse lifelong patterns of ignoring yourself to please others or stay productive.
🛠️ Balancing Push and Recovery
What it is:
Working in a way that leaves space for rest, not just output.
How to Practice:
• Alternate between focus and recovery (like 25 minutes of work, then 5 of rest).
• Plan recovery time before burnout—like downtime after social events.
• Ask: Have I built in enough soft space today?
Why it helps:
Supports energy regulation and keeps you out of chronic stress mode.