It is normal to feel exhausted even if you do not move or engage in a lot of physical activity. Emotional burdens add to physical burdens. Being affected by war and any military events in any capacity impacts health, both mental and physical, which might in turn affect your daily routine, the way you respond to stress and different events and people in your life, and how you feel and function throughout the day. Loss of proficiency in everyday skills is also a normal consequence of stress.

At the same time, it is impossible to completely control thoughts and emotions. Sensory overload is something that every person has to deal with when put in a situation of excessive exposure to the external environment with various stimuli, e.g. war zone. It is therefore most effective to focus on the body. Examples that can overload your senses can be excessive noise, crowds of people, various new smells, excessive exposure to mass media, gadgets, etc. These stimuli induce a person into a state of stress as our brain perceives them as a danger to the body.

Each of these stimuli accompanied us in everyday pre-war life, but we dealt with them without hesitation.We understood that this was a temporary exposure to something unpleasant and could be addressed. In the situation of war, the exposure to and intensity of stimuli increases dramatically. This results in a reduced ability or inability to cope with even the simplest daily activities. People deal with stress differently: some are silent, and some, on the contrary, talk a lot, some cry, and some,, on the contrary, laugh a lot, some people might show different eccentric behaviors. These are all natural human reactions to stress . If we do not learn to work and cope with these difficulties, in the future it can lead to deterioration in physical and psychological health, social isolation, anxiety, depression, etc.

Therefore, it is important to recognize stress,anxiety, and their symptoms and learn how to cope . Working with the body is one of the important and effective ways to cope with stress. Focus on the needs of the body. Muscle clamps (tensions) increase not only physiological stress but psychological stress as well. Life is movement. Staying active is a biological need. This is how we make sure that our muscles and organs stay oxygenated enough and therefore functional. It also improves our mood. Staying active helps us to process our emotions in a healthy way. Staying active is important even if you do not want to be active.

Try stretching, or performing a simple exercise routine, walking outside if safe or inside if it is not safe. If you know yoga, do yoga or any other sports related activities. Receiving or giving yourself a massage, taking a shower or bath (with scents if you have access to them), following a typical hygiene routine will help you to soothe your body pain and, in turn, your mental pain and adjust and cope with the new reality.

Listen and pay attention to your body. It talks to you in many different ways.

1. While inhaling slowly, contract one muscle group (for example your feet) for 5 seconds to 10 seconds, then exhale and suddenly release the tension in that muscle group.

2. Relax for 10 seconds to 20 seconds and then move on to the next muscle group (for example your calves).

3. While releasing the tension, focus on the changes you feel when the muscle group is relaxed. You might find it helpful to imagine that stressful feelings are flowing out of your body as you relax each muscle group or you might imagine sunlight flowing through your body and taking away all the tension and pain

4. Gradually work your way up the body contracting (as you inhale) and relaxing muscle groups on exhale.

It is important for your body to have energy (e.g., light soup/ chicken broth, apples, carrots, nuts, dark chocolate/sugar produce, bread/croutons). During stressful situations you need to eat regularly. You can eat in small portions, but often. This is how we communicate to our body that we are not going into a survival mode and we are not dying, which prevents secretion of stress hormones in high doses. Regular food intake contributes to the normal functioning of all organs and systems of the body.

Try to make your diet balanced, filled with all the necessary different nutrients during each meal intake: fats, proteins, carbohydrates. Fats are one of the sources of energy and are found in nuts, dark chocolate, cheese, full-fat yogurt or kefir, whole eggs, fatty fish, extra virgin olive oil, and butter. Protein is the basis for the chemical processes of the body, and plays an important role in the immune system (lean meat, nuts, beans, grains, broccoli, seafood, eggs, yogurt, dairy products, tofu, quinoa, and lentils). Carbohydrates are also a supplier of energy needed to nourish all body cells, including nerve cells (nuts, cereals, flour products, sugar, chocolate, honey, seeds, fruits, vegetables, grains, whole-grain foods, milk, and milk products).

Drink at least 2-3 liters or 8 cups of water a day. Given the fact that our body is roughly made up of 60 percent water with our blood consisting of 90 percent water, it is not surprising how important it is for us. Water helps to improve the brain functioning, digestion, and is involved in the process of thermoregulation of the body.

Limit caffeinated drinks to one cup/day (coffee/tea). Caffeine stimulates the body and adds additional stress to your muscles. It also quickly removes water from the body, creating a risk of dehydration. If you do not recognize dehydration in time, it can become severe and threaten your health and life. Look out for these symptoms of dehydration:

• thirst;

• dry mouth;

• drowsiness, fatigue and distraction;

• headache;

• dizziness and loss of consciousness;

• muscle spasms;

• dark circles under the eyes and sunken eyes;

• palpitations (increased heart hate) and low blood pressure.

Think about what you are able to achieve after a good rest. Your body movements will be more smooth, you will be able to make better and more adaptive decisions, you will be able to be a better protector for your children, you will have less chance of displacing “negative” feelings to “less threatening” people, like your children. After only three or four nights without sleep, you can start to hallucinate. It is hard enough to take care of oneself in such a state but even harder to take care of children and your loved ones. You need to sleep well to have enough physical resources to continue performing your daily routine. Consistent progressive muscle relaxation can assist with better quality of sleep. For example, I personally cannot fall asleep and maintain sleep unless I follow a strict schedule of when I go to bed and when I wake up. But even a consistent schedule is not enough for me. Having terrible insomnia for eleven years taught me that I cannot sleep unless I take care of myself by exercising, giving myself frequent breaks throughout the day in order to avoid headaches, and following my own relaxation routine (baths, showers, walks, different relaxation techniques) on a consistent and extended basis. If I do not force myself to sleep well one night the following day I will experience such a terrible headache from sleep deprivation that even if I want to I will not be able to fall asleep anymore. It is a terrible loop. I have a long way to go, but only by taking care of myself and relaxing my body, I am able to sleep better, function better throughout the day, be more helpful to my clients and build and maintain healthy relationships.

Many people have no work during war or it has been canceled, and the prospect of restoring the usual work schedule is very vague. However, there is an opportunity to work out a new intra-family schedule. For example, go to bed no later than 10 pm, eat healthy food at the same time, for example, at 8 am, 11 am, 1 pm, 4 pm, and 7 pm. My experience of staying in Kyiv, Ukraine taught me that an air raid alert can be announced at any moment during night or day. So, thermoses with warm tea and containers/boxes with simple food should always be readily available and conveniently packed to take them with you to a shelter quickly. I found that preparing food in case of an emergency is comforting.