Stress Less Be Your Best

Slow down and pay attention.

Slow down,
Use all senses—
Notice what is here,
what is present right now, to bring new awareness and meaning.

Mary Oliver believed that meaning isn’t something that we chase; it’s something we uncover but only when we’re present enough to receive it.

If we are open to what is present, we are reminded of what is available in each moment.. We are reminded of our belonging to something so much bigger. So much more meaningful.

The leaves in this picture were just laid on the path, in this beautiful way. I was walking slowly, going for a gentle stroll. I usually would have just rush by.

Glimmers are the opposite of triggers.
They’re the tiny moments when something inside you connects and softens. A warm breeze. A kind smile. A familiar smell.
Glimmers don’t fix everything—but they remind us to be in the now and that joy still exists. They make us stop, to take a moment to be present with ourselves and with the world.
Today I noticed this beautiful yellow tree bathed in sunlight. It made me stop and look. It didn’t shout. It whispered, “all will be well.” Just enough to breathe again.

Some moments are like leaves on the river—passing, gentley, unnoticed. Others catch the light and we remember them. Not because they were loud, but because they were beautiful.

Where colour meets calm. What was one perfect moment for you today?

Emotional regulation is strongly linked to creativity. The positive emotions increase cognitive flexibility, as well as connection with self and others. It doesn't have to be art. It may be through cooking a meal , gardening, solving a problem in a new way. In what ways have you been creative today? I'd love to see your projects or hear your thoughts!

🧠 CHANGE TOOLKIT #4 WINDOW OF TOLERANCE

What Is the Window of Tolerance?

The Window of Tolerance is your brain’s optimal zone for functioning. When you’re inside it, you feel regulated, present, and able to think clearly. You can reflect, respond, and make choices. When you’re outside of it, your nervous system shifts into survival mode — either over stimulated (anxious, overwhelmed, reactive) or shut down (numb, disconnected, frozen).

Learning to notice when you’re drifting outside your window is the first step toward reclaiming calm and clarity.
The second step is finding what helps bring you back in .
🌀 If you’re hyper-aroused (anxious, agitated), do something calming.
🌱 If you’re hypo-aroused (flat, low), do something activating.

The window isn’t fixed. It expands with rest, safety, and support — and shrinks with exhaustion, trauma, or sensory overload.

🧭 It’s not about staying calm all the time — it’s about recognising when you are losing regulation and knowing how to come back.

Song for Autumn

In the deep fall
don’t you imagine the leaves think how comfortable it will be to touch the earth instead of the
nothingness of air and the endless freshets of wind?

And don’t you think
the trees themselves, especially those with mossy, warm caves, begin to think of the birds that will come – six, a dozen – to sleep
inside their bodies?

And don’t you hear
the goldenrod whispering goodbye, the everlasting being crowned with the first
tuffets of snow?

The pond vanishes, and the white field over which the fox runs so quickly brings out its blue shadows. And the wind pumps its bellows.

And at evening especially,
the piled firewood shifts a little,
longing to be on its way.

by Mary Oliver

One
song that has saved your sanity..?

🛠️ Change toolkit #3 : Creativity. A Tool For Regulation.
Creativity isn’t just painting and poetry. It’s anything that helps you connect, to yourself, to others, the environment and wider world. Research shows that creativity is good for our brains in many ways and supports regulation. It might be:
• Learning something e.g. a new recipe
• Being curious, paying attention and noticing something new in a familiar situation
• Reframing a stuck thought or solving a problem in a different, creative way.
• Journaling one sentence
• Rearranging a shelf or room
• Asking a better or different questions

Small acts of creativity can meet our needs in many different ways. For example creativity can meet the need for uncertainty and variety (doing something new/ different), connection with self and others and growth (I’m evolving, challenging myself and learning).
Creative tasks also help us regulate not by escaping emotion, but by engaging with it, in a different way, with curiosity.

Creativity then becomes a bridge: from dysregulation to clarity or from survival to growth.
Please do let me know in the chat the creative things that you have tried and find helpful day to day? It would be wonderful to generate a list others could try!

Feeling stuck or overwhelmed? One small action is all it takes to break free...