Stress is inevitable, important and can actually be healthy. However, unrelenting, chronic stress from caregiving is a killer, not to mention a miserable way to live. Try these tips, checkout the links. Show up everyday for your family ready to go.

• Get enough sleep. It’s #1 for a reason. Nobody copes well or feels good or thinks clearly without it. You’ve heard it from everywhere. Clean up your sleep hygiene, cut the excuses, get to bed on time, and feel better. Don’t believe me? Then, hear this guy! https://youtu.be/5MuIMqhT8DM

• Get moving. Exercise has been proven to release chemicals that fight cancer, decrease stress, increase happiness, boost your immune system, and much more. Try to do your workout before evening. Good motivating video = https://youtu.be/BHY0FxzoKZE

• Eat well and eat with frequency. Hanger is real. Just ask my 14 year old. It’s easy to miss meals because you’re busy, or justify eating whatever is available. So, set a timer and plan ahead and have good snacks and meals ready. This video has some really cool stuff. https://youtu.be/3dqXHHCc5lA

• Flush the Cortisol with ice baths or showers in the morning. If my eight year old can do it, so can you! We did a whole video about it. Check it out. https://youtu.be/P1bVYwB1OOE This book has so much information! The Upward Spiral: Using Neuroscience to Reverse the Course of Depression, One Small Change at a Time, by Alex Korb.

• Adjust expectations. Lots of things make for hard days: behavior issues, sensory melt downs, seizures. Hard days get worse when you really thought today would be great, and BOOM! Big let down. Hope is vital, but be prepared. I love this video about it! https://youtu.be/meka3_pUVqc

  This book also has remarkable insights. https://g.co/kgs/hvuJ5s

• Know their triggers. Be aware and pay attention to patterns and see if early interventions decrease more stressful, escalated situations. Does your loved one keep it together at school, and explode at home? Are they bears if not fed? An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

• Know your triggers. I know that I can handle anything William throws at me, until 2am. Then, all bets are off, and so are the gloves. I have plans in place for times and situations that can be triggering, so that I don’t have to think and I don’t just react. I follow the plan, and everybody is ok. https://youtu.be/JD4O7ama3o8

• Count every green light you hit once a day. Stress primes us to focus on problems and negatives. But, there are really simple games you can play to turn off that part of your brain. The green light game is one of the simplest. Try it and turn on your prefrontal cortex, you’ll find happiness comes easier and you’ll make better decisions. Check out this video for other great tips. https://youtu.be/lfBpsV1Hwqs

• Meditate for 5 minutes a day. Be alone and totally present with yourself. There are lots of studies about mindfulness and how it helps emotional regulation. This video really helped me. https://youtu.be/7CBfCW67xT8

  What more tips on how to create habits? Check this book out. https://g.co/kgs/icH3tQ

• Realize that when you feel stressed, it is not a terrible thing. It’s actually your brain working with your body to make sure you can perform at your best. In those moments, how we frame ‘being stressed’ physically changes how it affects our bodies. If we tell ourselves we got this and it’s a healthy response, it will be. If we tell ourselves that it is slowly killing us, it will. Check out this Ted Talk on stress by Kelly McGonigal. https://youtu.be/RcGyVTAoXEU

• Now, go on. You got this!