Work it, honey!

Do you sit at the office waiting for dispatch to call? Do you "run" all shift or all night? This is not the exercise you need. I used to think about my calls as hard work and yes, sometimes I would lift really heavy dead people and sweat and breathe heavily. But let me say it again for the people in the back - This is not the exercise you need! What you need are daily body movements that are not work related - dog walks, play time with the kids, bike rides with your partner, a yoga session, 15min on the treadmill, lifting weights. The exercise is not work related - see what I did there? It’s a mindset thing.

I’ve been reading and re-reading The Body Keeps The Score, which is an amazing resource for responders interested in understanding the effects of constant direct and indirect trauma, vicarious trauma, primary and secondary trauma, compassion fatigue, and burnout have on our bodies. The copy of my book is dogeared and highlighted and flagged with color codes. Dr. van der Kolk mostly worked with veterans but the was he describes his clients’ symptoms are straight outta my brain and body too. I recommend the read.

One of the biggest takeaways of this book for me was how to process stress in a way that functioned best. Have you ever noticed how dogs shake after something exciting happens? Humans need an opportunity like this too! I like to call it finding my Acuity - describing, feeling, labeling, and naming the physical feelings I’m having in the moment.

I get to decide next - is this a high energy, high vibration feeling (may be associated with anxiety, stress, frustration, anger) that requires some high energy output? Do I need to run? Kickbox? Wrestle with the kids? Swim?

Or is this a low energy, low vibration (may be associated with depression, sadness, numbness, loneliness) that requires some low energy output? Do I need to do some box breathing? Go to yoga? Walk in the woods or the sand? meditate?

Moving your body does not necessarily mean the traditional “working out” or running activities, it means allowing your body to rid itself of the chemicals released during a stressful event and move on.