[g_podcast id="12204119"]
Today I'm interviewing Kristina von Fuchs. Originally the interview was divided into two parts, and part 1 could be found in Kristina's podcast. However, as Kristina no longer gives coaching sessions, "only" this second part is still available.
We talk about the following topics, among others:
Dear Kristina,
what are good strategies for reducing stress?
Kristina: There are 2 good approaches. Firstly, it is important to reduce acute stress, especially if you have the feeling that you are already very stressed or ill. Then it is important to reflect on the stress and look at where the stress is coming from. Is it environmental factors such as noise, emotions, do I have a lot of stressful thoughts or many upcoming tasks, projects, etc.?
It is helpful to create a "mental medicine chest" that can be used individually. The quickest way to get into relaxation mode is the breathing technique. I concentrate specifically on my breathing and use it to regulate myself.
It helps other people better to get active, go for a run or shout out their emotions. If you feel anger inside you have the fight reaction, where you have to let off steam for a short time.
So the first step is to see how I can reduce the stress acutely and the second step is long-term stress reduction. For long-term stress reduction, you should take a close look at what the stress pattern actually is. For example, when it comes to being late, does it stress me out that other people might think badly of me, etc.
How do you do that Julia?
My approach is to look at the food I eat. and take stress out of the system. This means reducing sugar and alcohol, avoiding fast carbohydrates such as pasta and cereals and generally eating natural foods. What our grandma already knew as food: lots of cooked vegetables, soups, drinking plenty of water, little to no snacks, not too much fruit. For many people, even a feeling of fullness is stressful, which affects their well-being.
It is also important not to use food to swallow emotions, but to find other strategies to reward yourself without reaching for food.
Kristina: Yes, exactly, the best way to do this is to develop automatisms, which means that when the stress comes up, you know exactly what could help you at that moment, e.g. reaching for nuts instead of a chocolate bar in a stressful moment.
Planning is half the battle, so I look at when stressful moments might be coming up and how I can prevent them in advance, i.e. defining a different method for each situation, e.g. breathing, exercising, etc. I can also do this in advance. Another great trick is to activate our visual brain by remembering a happy thought, such as a great vacation destination. This activates your logical memory and allows you to think logically again at that moment, thus reducing stress.
Great trick, I like to give my clients the tip of sitting down to eat, taking 3-4 deep breaths into your stomach and only then starting to eat, so that you eat more slowly.In stressful situations, you don't notice that you are full.You often lack an additional kick when eating quickly, so you tend to quickly reach for a cola or something unhealthy. The body feels increasingly stressed by the sugar intake.
Kristina: Yes, conscious belly breathing alone is so important and should definitely be practised if you don't know it.
Exactly, I also think your tips are good for defining strategies and I always tell my customers to write down their own stress tips so that they can then counteract stress with the method that suits them best.
Kristina: Two other methods that reduce stress in the long term are 1. meditation. It has been scientifically proven that the amygdala, which is responsible for our stress response, shrinks within 6 weeks of half an hour of daily meditation. And the part that is responsible for regulating our emotions also grows through meditation, so that we can control our emotions better.
Very nice, I also teach my Darmglück customers this in the course. What do you recommend when you hear the sentence: "Meditation stresses me out even more"?
Kristina: Then I recommend meditation even more. Enduring this stress, being aware of the thousands of thoughts, that's good training here.
How did you find your way into meditation?
Kristina: I came across Ayurveda through a stomach illness, which is how I came to meditation. I recommend that everyone starts with guided meditation. The most important thing about meditation is regularity. Practicing 4-5 days a week is a good start.
I am a big fan of self-hypnosis, which is a similar approach where you get in touch with your subconscious and which leads to a very relaxed state. You can also tell yourself suggestions that reduce physical symptoms.
Kristina: Yes, the subconscious in particular calls up the reaction emerge. When something happens, I evaluate it as a threat and feel stressed. It is only through the subconscious mind that we can immerse ourselves here, "turn" this screw so that we perceive things less as a threat.
If you don't like hypnosis or meditation, you can also change this threat by practising optimism. The more we learn to look at things positively, to see difficulties as challenges, to integrate optimism into our everyday lives and to practice this on a daily basis, the less stress we experience, which is also scientifically proven.
It's also about what I focus on, as the sentence says: "You are where your attention is." We can change our thoughts at any time, I can change my mind at any time, I had to learn that too.
Kristina: Absolutely. Meditation is also very helpful for situations like this. You take control of the wild thoughts running around in your head.
My hypnosis teacher always said that we should first ask our clients what's going well instead of asking about the negative.
Kristina: Yes, that is very valuable. I also like to write down the positive things of the day in my evening diary, which is also very beneficial.
They always say that the last thought you go to sleep with is the next thought you wake up with. It has even been proven that if I go to sleep with a positive thought in the evening, I wake up much more positive in the morning, right?
Kristina: That's right. This is where our subconscious mind works. I also like to say positive affirmations to myself before I go to sleep, so I can fall asleep much more quickly. How do you go about it?
I like to end the evening by imagining the following situation: "How is my life going in the most positive sense, what does my ideal day look like?" I also like to fall asleep quickly.
Kristina: Yes, a good night's sleep is very important so that we don't feel stressed.
You can also use the gut as a good example here. Many people who have bowel problems can't sleep well because they don't produce enough serotonin. Serotonin is a precursor of melatonin (sleep hormone) and that is why they do not sleep well. Customers who change their diet and improve their gut health tell me that they can sleep well again.
What advice would you give to someone who has a lot of commitments?
Kristina: It's a question of attitude. First of all, you look at whether the commitments are stressful, but of course if we have a lot to do, the demands can also exceed them. It's important to pay attention to which daily tasks are the most important. These tasks should be scheduled first. We often like to fill the day with small, unimportant things where we can work on our productivity.
My tip is always to take breaks and plan time to relax, especially when you have a lot to do.
There is a study that says: "The worst stress is actually the one that we ourselves consider negative", so we should evaluate stress joyfully, try to make the tasks easier and recognize that they serve us to achieve our goals.
My addition is that I have the feeling that many people are very perfectionist and cause themselves a lot of stress. They should then ask themselves the question: "Isn't 80% enough?" (Pareto principle). And test it once, because often the world doesn't work after that under.
Kristina: Yes, I recently had a workshop on the topic of emotional balance. Almost all of the participants had the belief that they are only good when they achieve a lot. Instead of recognizing that they are also valuable without having to achieve anything. It's important to take the pressure off here.
Yes, and that many people don't want to be helped and think they have to master everything on their own. Or that people like to compare themselves with others, which also builds up enormous stress.
In the end, I think it's important to realize what's going on in my head and how I can interpret the situations differently, because ultimately it's just a story we tell ourselves.
Kristina: Correct. So starting at all levels, getting to know yourself better on an emotional and mental level, looking at what's going on in your head, how do I eat, that should be very beneficial for reducing stress.
Is there anything else you would like to tell us in conclusion?
Kristina: Relax, see the beauty in life, enjoy it, take good care of yourself and put yourself first!
Great, thank you very much. And to include nutrition as a basis in the stress strategy. Because without a healthy gut, without a healthy metabolism, I can't reduce stress permanently.
Now we'd love to hear any comments, questions and feedback on this conversation from you.
If you're stuck at a particular stressful point and need tips on this, feel free to write to us.
Now I recommend you subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss an episode, and if you like what you hear, I'd really appreciate a review on iTunes or Apple Podcast. Because these reviews also help other people to find the podcast so that we can spread the knowledge about gut and health more.
Today I'm interviewing Kristina von Fuchs. Originally the interview was divided into two parts, and part 1 could be found in Kristina's podcast. However, as Kristina no longer gives coaching sessions, "only" this second part is still available.
We talk about the following topics, among others:
- What are good strategies for getting stress under control again?
- What does Kristina mean by the mental medicine chest?
- Why is nutrition and gut health important when it comes to stress?
- What effect does meditation have on our brain?
- Why the subconscious is an important part of combating stress
- How you can train optimism
Dear Kristina,
what are good strategies for reducing stress?
Kristina: There are 2 good approaches. Firstly, it is important to reduce acute stress, especially if you have the feeling that you are already very stressed or ill. Then it is important to reflect on the stress and look at where the stress is coming from. Is it environmental factors such as noise, emotions, do I have a lot of stressful thoughts or many upcoming tasks, projects, etc.?
It is helpful to create a "mental medicine chest" that can be used individually. The quickest way to get into relaxation mode is the breathing technique. I concentrate specifically on my breathing and use it to regulate myself.
It helps other people better to get active, go for a run or shout out their emotions. If you feel anger inside you have the fight reaction, where you have to let off steam for a short time.
So the first step is to see how I can reduce the stress acutely and the second step is long-term stress reduction. For long-term stress reduction, you should take a close look at what the stress pattern actually is. For example, when it comes to being late, does it stress me out that other people might think badly of me, etc.
How do you do that Julia?
My approach is to look at the food I eat. and take stress out of the system. This means reducing sugar and alcohol, avoiding fast carbohydrates such as pasta and cereals and generally eating natural foods. What our grandma already knew as food: lots of cooked vegetables, soups, drinking plenty of water, little to no snacks, not too much fruit. For many people, even a feeling of fullness is stressful, which affects their well-being.
It is also important not to use food to swallow emotions, but to find other strategies to reward yourself without reaching for food.
Kristina: Yes, exactly, the best way to do this is to develop automatisms, which means that when the stress comes up, you know exactly what could help you at that moment, e.g. reaching for nuts instead of a chocolate bar in a stressful moment.
Planning is half the battle, so I look at when stressful moments might be coming up and how I can prevent them in advance, i.e. defining a different method for each situation, e.g. breathing, exercising, etc. I can also do this in advance. Another great trick is to activate our visual brain by remembering a happy thought, such as a great vacation destination. This activates your logical memory and allows you to think logically again at that moment, thus reducing stress.
Great trick, I like to give my clients the tip of sitting down to eat, taking 3-4 deep breaths into your stomach and only then starting to eat, so that you eat more slowly.In stressful situations, you don't notice that you are full.You often lack an additional kick when eating quickly, so you tend to quickly reach for a cola or something unhealthy. The body feels increasingly stressed by the sugar intake.
Kristina: Yes, conscious belly breathing alone is so important and should definitely be practised if you don't know it.
Exactly, I also think your tips are good for defining strategies and I always tell my customers to write down their own stress tips so that they can then counteract stress with the method that suits them best.
Kristina: Two other methods that reduce stress in the long term are 1. meditation. It has been scientifically proven that the amygdala, which is responsible for our stress response, shrinks within 6 weeks of half an hour of daily meditation. And the part that is responsible for regulating our emotions also grows through meditation, so that we can control our emotions better.
Very nice, I also teach my Darmglück customers this in the course. What do you recommend when you hear the sentence: "Meditation stresses me out even more"?
Kristina: Then I recommend meditation even more. Enduring this stress, being aware of the thousands of thoughts, that's good training here.
How did you find your way into meditation?
Kristina: I came across Ayurveda through a stomach illness, which is how I came to meditation. I recommend that everyone starts with guided meditation. The most important thing about meditation is regularity. Practicing 4-5 days a week is a good start.
I am a big fan of self-hypnosis, which is a similar approach where you get in touch with your subconscious and which leads to a very relaxed state. You can also tell yourself suggestions that reduce physical symptoms.
Kristina: Yes, the subconscious in particular calls up the reaction emerge. When something happens, I evaluate it as a threat and feel stressed. It is only through the subconscious mind that we can immerse ourselves here, "turn" this screw so that we perceive things less as a threat.
If you don't like hypnosis or meditation, you can also change this threat by practising optimism. The more we learn to look at things positively, to see difficulties as challenges, to integrate optimism into our everyday lives and to practice this on a daily basis, the less stress we experience, which is also scientifically proven.
It's also about what I focus on, as the sentence says: "You are where your attention is." We can change our thoughts at any time, I can change my mind at any time, I had to learn that too.
Kristina: Absolutely. Meditation is also very helpful for situations like this. You take control of the wild thoughts running around in your head.
My hypnosis teacher always said that we should first ask our clients what's going well instead of asking about the negative.
Kristina: Yes, that is very valuable. I also like to write down the positive things of the day in my evening diary, which is also very beneficial.
They always say that the last thought you go to sleep with is the next thought you wake up with. It has even been proven that if I go to sleep with a positive thought in the evening, I wake up much more positive in the morning, right?
Kristina: That's right. This is where our subconscious mind works. I also like to say positive affirmations to myself before I go to sleep, so I can fall asleep much more quickly. How do you go about it?
I like to end the evening by imagining the following situation: "How is my life going in the most positive sense, what does my ideal day look like?" I also like to fall asleep quickly.
Kristina: Yes, a good night's sleep is very important so that we don't feel stressed.
You can also use the gut as a good example here. Many people who have bowel problems can't sleep well because they don't produce enough serotonin. Serotonin is a precursor of melatonin (sleep hormone) and that is why they do not sleep well. Customers who change their diet and improve their gut health tell me that they can sleep well again.
What advice would you give to someone who has a lot of commitments?
Kristina: It's a question of attitude. First of all, you look at whether the commitments are stressful, but of course if we have a lot to do, the demands can also exceed them. It's important to pay attention to which daily tasks are the most important. These tasks should be scheduled first. We often like to fill the day with small, unimportant things where we can work on our productivity.
My tip is always to take breaks and plan time to relax, especially when you have a lot to do.
There is a study that says: "The worst stress is actually the one that we ourselves consider negative", so we should evaluate stress joyfully, try to make the tasks easier and recognize that they serve us to achieve our goals.
My addition is that I have the feeling that many people are very perfectionist and cause themselves a lot of stress. They should then ask themselves the question: "Isn't 80% enough?" (Pareto principle). And test it once, because often the world doesn't work after that under.
Kristina: Yes, I recently had a workshop on the topic of emotional balance. Almost all of the participants had the belief that they are only good when they achieve a lot. Instead of recognizing that they are also valuable without having to achieve anything. It's important to take the pressure off here.
Yes, and that many people don't want to be helped and think they have to master everything on their own. Or that people like to compare themselves with others, which also builds up enormous stress.
In the end, I think it's important to realize what's going on in my head and how I can interpret the situations differently, because ultimately it's just a story we tell ourselves.
Kristina: Correct. So starting at all levels, getting to know yourself better on an emotional and mental level, looking at what's going on in your head, how do I eat, that should be very beneficial for reducing stress.
Is there anything else you would like to tell us in conclusion?
Kristina: Relax, see the beauty in life, enjoy it, take good care of yourself and put yourself first!
Great, thank you very much. And to include nutrition as a basis in the stress strategy. Because without a healthy gut, without a healthy metabolism, I can't reduce stress permanently.
Now we'd love to hear any comments, questions and feedback on this conversation from you.
If you're stuck at a particular stressful point and need tips on this, feel free to write to us.
Now I recommend you subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss an episode, and if you like what you hear, I'd really appreciate a review on iTunes or Apple Podcast. Because these reviews also help other people to find the podcast so that we can spread the knowledge about gut and health more.
