In some instances, our lives may feel like they are rolling out of our control. For me, this happens during stressful weeks at work. I forget to take breaks, do the things I enjoy, eat healthy food, or take a relaxing bath. In brief, I forget to slow down and avoid all joy in favor of that pushing-beyond-the-boundaries-deadline work ethic. Consequently, we experience that our energy levels are drained, we are a soulless shell walking around trying to cope and survive for the next fight tomorrow. But stressful weeks dont have to result in this much suffering.

Creating an emotional emergency kit that you can access when you get that out of control feeling can be essential to find back to a homeostasis state, where intense work periods can coexist with joy and recovery. It consists on reminding ourselves of the activities that energize us because we enjoy them, we get inspired or simply give us some mental and physical rest. And yes, we do tend to forget them when we are in the rush to our next deadline.

The first step is to realize stress signals. For me one of the main red flags is when I think I don’t have time to exercise and I dont schedule it anymore in my calendar. Another way is to realize what emotions you feel when you are stressed. For me, I get irritated and I lose patience with myself and the people around me. If you don’t realize these warning signs by yourself, your body definitely will. From tension in the shoulder to painful joints, difficulty to fall asleep, skin rashes or digestive problems. Your body keeps score, so listen to the first indications and be aware that you are on autopilot on a crash collision course. Additionally, your thought train may also change in times of extreme workload. Self-criticism and denial of joy until the task is complete are two recurrent thoughts when I am way in over my head. Notice how your train of thought changes when faced with these intense situations.

At that point, you would want to have your emotional emergency kit ready. To prepare it, open a notes page on your phone, computer and journal and start writing down all the big and small things that bring you joy (bonus points for healthy habits). To make stimulate your emotional emergency kit brainstorm, here are some of my favourites:

• Go for a short walk in nature
• Meditate
• Write down your struggles in a journal and organize your thoughts
• Order joy food (for me it’s sushi or a delicious Pad Thai from my favourite Thai delivery)
• Engage in a short exercise (15 mins fit break). I have the Nike Training app which I love because it’s for free and there are plenty of exercise options.
• Relocate workspace. As simple as changing the room you are in can give you new energy and a new perspective
• Talk it out with a colleague

Realistically, try to balance your list with short activities, that you can perform during a work break, and longer activities, that you can perform before or after work or during extended lunch breaks. Once your list is complete, revisit it as many times as you see fit during your month and recognize if you schedule in enough time for yourself to recover. Your emotional emergency kit is now ready.