Rushing Through Life - the chaos that causes us all to live in a heightened state 24/7

Hadlea Shaw
Feb 27
4 min read

I hear it all the time from my clients and quite honestly myself too... "I'm so stressed right now". Okay what's causing this stress? "Well I feel like I have so much on my plate, no help, and I hate my job and I'm annoyed with my partner, and I just never can catch a break, I do EVERYTHING, my kids are crazy, I work 50+ hours a week, I just need some time to breathe." Whewh!! Me too sister. LOL

Look I get it, I have always considered myself a more "stressed" person and I think it started when I was younger, I constantly held myself to get the best grades, do the best in sports, please my parents, don't party, make sure that you have a good reputation, from school, to sports to competitive cheer, AP classes, help mom clean the cheer gym, do your chores. All I have ever known is go-go-go so whenever I do nothing I feel like I am being unproductive or like there's something that NEEDS to be done. The reality is, it doesn't need to be done immediately. We rush through life so much from one task to the next that we forget what we're even doing it for. there's no intention, there's just check off the to do list. Its a constant battle between my mind and my body to sit on the couch and read a book or get up and go find something to do to make myself feel productive. Honestly, I have been forcing myself to spend 30 minutes a day laying at the ceiling (I know I know this sounds silly but its actually been working wonders for me.) From running my own health coaching business, to taking care of the dogs and the house and living on social media nad screens because thats my job - I NEED to sit and not be stimulated by TikTok or Netflix.

When I do these sessions I sometimes close my eyes or I sometimes just look up but what I notice is my thoughts start to go 90 miles a minute and I let it happen and then I start to focus on being still and listening to my heart beat, and before you know it, my HR has come down to steady beat, and I am dang near falling asleep (which is a good thing!! it shows I am in a restorative spot) honestly if you're a high strung person and can get yourself to wind down so much to where you almost fall asleep, that's a good thing. NAPS ARE NOT BAD EITHER. If you can take one (would keep it under 30 minutes) then by all means go for it.

Anyways to the topic of stress. Stress is not inherently bad. Stress is actually a very necessary process in the body. We need it! It alerts us of danger, keeps our metabolism going, helps us fight of inflammation. HOWEVER... when we stay in a state of CONSTANT stress (psychological or physical) our bodies start to shut down and hate us LOL - thats what it feels like anyways....

We store fat easily, we can't sleep and are waking up at 3am every night, our cycles become dysfunctional, our blood sugar is a rollercoaster, we crave things we don't really want to be eating, we get constipated or we go to the bathroom 4x a day.

Stress affects us more than we can see and doing something about it is critical.

Small hacks you can start integrating ASAP - pick a couple at a time

set boundaries
Stop checking work emails after 7 PM; put a “do not disturb” on your phone.
Block off Saturday morning or Sunday entirely for yourself...no work calls, no social obligations.
Unfollow or mute accounts on Instagram that make you anxious or drained.
Tell friends/family you need a quiet hour after work to decompress.
decrease your toxin exposure
Limit alcohol to 1–2 drinks max per week, or swap cocktails for sparkling water with lemon OR MOCKTAILS.
Avoid recreational drugs; even “occasional” use stresses liver and hormone metabolism.
Replace harsh cleaning products with vinegar, baking soda, or plant-based alternatives. I also like meyers clean day or similar.
Switch skincare to fragrance-free, paraben-free, or natural products (e.g., aloe-based lotions).
- I use face reality recommended from my esthiticain and then Saie Beauty for makeup which is AMAZING
Open windows for 10–15 minutes daily to circulate fresh air.
slow downnnn queen
wake up 15-20 minutes earlier so you aren’t RUSHING thru your day. (book recc - the ruthless elimination of hurry)
drink some water, get outside in the sun - just step outside for 10 minuts with you face in the sun - no window
eat without having to scroll (i know this is hard we are all ipad kids)
take a short walk after lunch instead of going right back to work
take a breath and a pause before grabbing a snack - are you hungry or just stressed.
LISTEN TO YOUR CUES
go to bed when you’re tired
eat when you’re genuinely hungry
drink water plzzzz
take a nap if you’re fatigued I am not anti nap - go to bed early instead of scrolling on tik tok
if feeling anxious DO NOT GRAB CAFFEINE
track headaches and irritability as signals your body needs nourishment thru movement, sun, water or nourishing food.
breathing
belly breathe with your BELLY RISING FIRST - not chest
Try box breathing: inhale 4 seconds, hold 4, exhale 4, hold 4 - repeat 5 cycles.
foam roll before and after your training
meditation 20 minutes a day
morning sunlight - need I say more - not thru a window or with sunglasses on
allow more time for stillness - no podcast, audiobook, music or social media to fulfill your need for stimulation.

What I personally do to self regulate:

limit my screen time - no social media until I’ve done my 20 min meditation and journal
no phone TWO HOURS BEFORE BED (read, haircare routine, skincare routine while listening to spa music on the alexa LOL really try it it works.)
no caffeine until I’ve eating something within an hour of waking
30g of protein in my breakfast - I’d rather you do a protein shake then to fast until noon because you “aren’t hungry”
Movement is medicine - especially in nature - I purposely have time where I am not listening to anything but my own head.

If you want to utilize my full hormone handbook, click here.

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