Using exercise to discharge stored stress from your body...
...and how I knew my body needed to move.
Can we talk exercise for a minute?!
I’ve had the strongest urge to work out. I know this urge is present when I want to listen to Metallica or hit play on my “lifting” playlist while driving to work (It’s always in the morning when I feel this urge the strongest).
Today, I attempted (many times) to record a car conversation and process through these thoughts with you, but the dumb smoke in the air tuned up my voice, so here we are… typing.
This urge. It’s real, and I want to talk about it.
I believe this overwhelming desire, urge, push to want to hit the gym is because my body is holding onto too much stress arousal. It’s my body’s way of saying, “Bro, move your body.” Not because my body wants to lose weight, but because my body is like, “Your cup is gonna runneth over.”
When a stress response is triggered in our body, stress hormones flood our system to prepare us to take action. Whatever stress arousal that goes unused gets stored. If we’re not finding ways to burn off unused stress hormones (energy), it’ll start to fill up (watch this reel to better understand what I’m talking about) and eventually overflow (this is what leads to nervous system dysregulation).
Well, I think my nervous system is overflowing with unused stress arousal (energy).
The last eight months have been a doozy. My labor and delivery felt traumatic, which I’m sure resulted in a ton of stress hormones being released. I sorta feel like my postpartum experience was traumatic (that’s another story for another day), which means more stress arousal… and I haven’t really attempted to discharge any of that unused energy.
Now I'm feeling it. I’m feeling it in nervous energy that feels like a little simmer of submerged rage and restless energy.
As I drove to work the other day, I hit play on my lifting playlist - a playlist reserved only for the gym. I felt anger inside me. I felt restless energy that was dying to be released. I wanted to hit the gym, sprint fast, lift heavy, do burpees, and listen to angry music. All signs that my body is very dysregulated and in desperate need of a release.
I share this with you for two reasons…
One. So many humans navigate this earth dysregulated and full of anxious, unused stress arousal (and often seek meds to manage). They misread the cues their body is sending them, and they avoid utilizing movement as a means of discharging any unused stress arousal.
Two. Movement is the most underrated mental health med. Seriously!
While I never made it to the gym that day, it was a wake-up call for me. Eight months of pure stress arousal, sleep deprivation, and overwhelm have caught up with me. It’s time to burn off some stored stress.
I made a commitment that after my menstrual cycle (which is any day now), I would lean into the gym. I chose after because I cycle sync and base my workouts on what phase of my cycle I’m in (I plan to do a whole post on this). I even ordered a pre-workout and bought me some new workout shoes.
If you’re anything like me, and you feel like you could occasionally hulk smash someone, maybe you need to lace up your shoes, hit play on your angry workout playlist, and hit the gym too. Your nervous system (and mental health) will thank you for it.
Hope this was helpful!!
biggest hugs
P.S. If you ever have questions or want to learn about something I can help with, please tell me in the comments. I love when you comment by the way. Helps me feel like I’m not alone over here in this cozy corner of the internet.