I have some questions to ask you. Are you finding you don’t have the breath support you had previously? Have you been troubled by back pain, indigestion, rashes, infections, insomnia? Are you more irritable? No, this is not a medical form to complete. It’s a look at chronic stress that can be behind any of these problems, and more. Plus, it may be affecting your voice.
Right now we’re entering a stage in which our bodies may be showing physical signs of the emotions stress that has been unrelenting for over twenty-six months. And that stress is ramping up again as the war in the Ukraine continues, the Supreme Court is challenged, and new variants of the virus are on the horizon. With these challenges, more stress is created.
I had a reporter tell me she can’t seem to get through a full night’s sleep without waking up and not being able to get back to sleep. She is noticing her energy level in stand-ups is slipping.
An anchor who had omicron finds her breathing has not rebounded as rapidly as he wishes. And the list goes on.
This is truly a time to double down on taking steps to alleviate stress and take care of yourself. I’ve written lots of posts on these topics, and I’ll call some to your attention now.
Sleeping at least seven hours a night will increase your ability to concentrate and help you stay well. There are lots of steps you can take to accomplish this. Check out this post, which reviews them.
Eating gives you the energy to stay focused and keep going under pressure. Some simple changes in diet will accomplish this. Read what one network correspondent eats to stay at his best
And the one thing you can do that may help your voice the most is to improve your breathing. We all know COVID hits the respiratory tract hard, so make some simple breathing exercises like the ones in this post part of your day to keep your breathing the best it can be.
Breathing exercises are not the only form of exercise that helps combat stress. Don’t forget that physical exercise is a great stress-buster. Take a look at this post to see why.
Finally, find some time to relax focusing on the positive things in your life and in nature. There’s a good technique in this post. This has been proven to combat stress.
