The Reluctant Sprinter

You Know You're This When

You just worked an 80 hour week, did a back-to-back spin class, went dancing, and then passed out — for two days.

The Sprinter in you means that you’re go-go-go. There’s no such thing as slow and steady — you have a tendency to dash, spike, and burnout. But when it hits, the Reluctant side takes over; shifting you from overdrive to collapse. That’s your body talking and trying to remove itself from a situation to restore itself and find energy for future threats. Maybe it’s time to listen and put yourself in time out — before you crash!

Where You Land in the World of Female Stress

So first things first: whether you feel “stressed” day-to-day or not, everyone has a Stress Signature. And there’s no such thing as a bad, wrong, or weird Signature. In a perfect world, we’d all want to be near the center of the grid, which means that you’ve found ways to minimize cumulative wear and tear on your mind and body.

Take the quiz to find out where on the chronic stress spectrum you fall today — and what you can do to move towards a state of balance.

How Stress Manifests in Your Body

In general:
Experiences collapses · Extreme exhaustion · Inability to do anything · Need for sleep · No energy
Over time you may be prone to:
Ulcers · Performance incompetence · Progressive, profound fatigue · Inability to initiate new activities · Burnout · Decreased libido
Ok, what’s the plan?

Here are science-backed recommendations that may help Reluctant Sprinters manage chronic stress. To tailor these recommendations to your health history & lifestyle, talk to your provider at the Tia Clinic where you can connect your Stress Signature to care.

Your Mission Critical:
Learn to read the signals your brain and body are sending to avoid collapse. Learning to pause preemptively is your mission.
What to Eat:
  • To alleviate aches and pains, stimulate endorphin production with foods rich in tryptophan and tyrosine, like chicken, beef, cheese, almonds, tomatoes, oats, and bananas. For an added boost eat dark chocolate and spicy foods which cause the brain to release endorphins, thus reducing our perception of pain.
  • Fill your plate with foods that don’t cause a big rise in blood sugar, like most fruits and vegetables, beans, nuts, and minimally processed grains.
  • Choose anti-inflammatory foods. As your immune system is prone to overreaching because of weak cortisol levels, you are more prone to inflammation. Favor oatmeal, apples, broccoli, and turmeric.
  • Your gut microbes need nourishment! Foods rich in fiber, like asparagus, oats, apples, and whole grains, keep you full longer and feed your gut bugs.
Daily Habits:
  • Eat meals at the same time every day to balance your cortisol rhythms.
  • Exercise regularly to improve your vitality and reduce your pain. Opt for lower-impact workouts and moderate weight training (like swimming, pilates, and biking) to minimize strain and associated pain.
  • Try mindful meditation to slow down activity in your parietal and frontal lobes, which improves your reasoning when faced with a stressful scenario, boosts working memory, and increases empathy.
  • Journal. Through the process of writing, the parts of your brain that are activated by fear and emotion are calmed down.
  • Unwind with a warm shower before bed.
Self Care:
  • Use cognitive behavioural therapy to recognize negative thought patterns and keep your 0-100 reflex in check.
  • Soothe your frayed nerves with aromatherapy. Lavender enhances the parasympathetic nervous system, which slows your heart rate and can alleviate anxiety.
  • Shiatsu and facial massages’s varying rhythmic pressures on the body help balance your disrupted, desynchronized stress responses and increase your vagal tone.
  • Try Hatha yoga and Tai-chi. Through the combination of breath and movement, these exercises can reduce your sensitivity to pain and enhance your relaxation.
Sign up for the Tia Clinic to connect your Stress Signature to care.
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Stress SignaturesGlossary