Futures’ Laura Kunz Discusses Stress & Sobriety – 5 Instant Ways to Relieve Stress

Futures’ Laura Kunz is a Cincinnati, Ohio native who resides in Jupiter, Florida with her husband, Travis and two children, Kennedy (age 6), and Anderson (age 2.5).  She’s worked in the behavioral healthcare field since 2009.  In 2015, she began working for Futures Recovery Healthcare as the Outreach and Community Liaison.  Futures is a residential treatment center in Tequesta, Florida providing detoxification, residential, and aftercare services for families and individuals with substance use and mental health disorders.  In her free time, Laura enjoys spending time with family, friends, and neighbors, enjoying their boat on the Jupiter waterways, exercise, cooking, and creative projects. 

In 2008, Laura committed to a sober lifestyle. “I’ve gotten married, built a fulfilling career, and I’ve had two children, all without celebrating or commiserating with alcohol.  The most consistent challenge of living sober for me has been having to feel my feelings at all times.  There is no numbing or checking out with a glass of wine or a cocktail.  This has worked in my favor during the good times but it can become quite painful during the hard times.  With all of the additional pandemic-related stress of the past year, I’ve had to be extra vigilant about combatting and relieving stress.” – Laura Kunz

Laura shares her alcohol-replacing essentials for immediate stress relief below:  

Marble Jar Friends 

The famous emotions researcher Brene Brown refers to our most trusted and valuable friends as “marble jar” friends.  Marble jar friends are the people in our lives whom we’ve established mutually trusting and supportive relationships with over time.  As Brene says, their marble jars are full.  Being in a helping profession and a mother of young children, I’m more often the giver rather than the recipient of support.  It is essential for me to build and maintain my marble jar friendships so that when I get into a “spot,” I have people that I can be my raw, stressed, and messy self with.  In fact, one of the most effective ways that Brene Brown says we build trust in friendships is by asking for help.  This Brene Brown video breaks down the anatomy of trust and how to build and identify marble jar relationships.  Watching it will be 24 minutes well-spent. https://fb.watch/3066_hBwKe/

Turn Pain into Power

After I had my second child in 2018, I asked a good friend to introduce me to high-intensity interval training.  After the first two weeks, where I was so sore that I could barely walk up and down the stairs or hold my son, I was hooked.  It has served as an incredible stress-relieving outlet for me ever since.  If I’m feeling stressed, frustrated, sad, or angry, I literally take that pain and energy and I transmute it into power.  It’s like alchemy.  If hard exercise is not your thing, perhaps another intense physical outlet or limits-pushing adventure will provide a similar release.  This concept also works on an emotional and spiritual level.  If you are feeling an increase in stress, perhaps it’s time to contact a therapist or healing professional to do some work on the unhealthy behavior, painful relationship, or past trauma that you’ve been holding onto.  The pain is temporary but the positive impact of transmuting the pain will be long-lasting. 

Zoom Out 

The last year has zoomed us all in, in many ways.  Our daily lives became more about what existed within our own walls and between our own ears than ever before.  This provided a unique perspective on what our lives were prior to the pandemic, what they are now, and what we want them to be moving forward.  For some, this new perspective increased stress because it prompted change.  If the COVID “zoom in” has led to increased stress in any area of your life, through change or other factors, I suggest finding a way to also “zoom out.”  Somehow, look at a bigger picture rather than only at your own little cross-section.  A great way that I consistently zoom out is through community support groups.  There is a saying, “if we all put our problems in a pile and saw everyone else’s, we’d grab ours back.”  In other words, if your own life and circumstances are leading to stress, find a way to look at someone else’s life and circumstances.

When you want to run- RUN!!!! 

I do not mean packing a bag and heading South on a one-way trip to the Florida Keys.  I mean, physically run!  I was never a runner, in fact, I despised it but two years ago, when I started getting in shape after my second child, I thought I’d give it a try.  As I slowly built strength through my stress-relieving HIIT workouts, running became easier and easier.  By the time the pandemic hit, I was able to run the entire length of our huge subdivision several times.  When the work stress, home life, pandemic or all of the above have me feeling like I want to run away, I physically run instead.  Oftentimes, I run at 8:00pm at night after my kids go to bed, even if I am exhausted.  I find the stress relief to be comparable to a steam engine.  It slowly lets out the steam while propelling me forward at the same time.

Sanctuary

I define a sanctuary as a place where you can go in order to feel peaceful, grounded, and connected.  Personally, I have several sanctuaries ranging in glamour and accessibility.  My daily, at-home, and accessible sanctuaries are my shower and my closet.  Although they are not very fancy, they are private.  If I am in one of these two places, I know that am safe to breathe and release stress.  Other sanctuaries for me are places in nature like the beach or the park.  At least once every few months, I try to carve out two or three hours to rent a paddleboard and paddle out alone to the islands off of the inner coastal.  As a full-time, working mom it is very difficult to give myself permission to have this time to myself.  However, I have found very few greater stress relievers than laying on a paddleboard listening to the water splash around your board as the sunlight hits your face.  In summary, I encourage you to really consider where your sanctuaries are and then give yourself permission to go there.

The original article can be found here.