Lower Your Work Cortisol

Introduction

Speaker 0:00

Good day. This is Dr. Jana Price- Sharps from Mindpilot.

The Cycle of Shared Negativity and Stress

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So today I want to talk for just a few minutes about how you connect with coworkers. This is going to sound a little weird, but what I have found over 25 years of working with first responders and military veterans is sometimes people connect through hate, through griping about the department, the people, the, I don't know, commanding officer, the sergeant, the lieutenant, the battalion chief. And they that's what they talk about. And so one of the things that we've talked a lot about on this podcast is that uh those kind of conversations increase adrenaline and cortisol, right? And so on your days off or in between calls or in between deployments, you want to cool your system down. You want to reduce adrenaline, reduce cortisol, and that makes you calmer and feel better. And it also helps things at home. So you're not barking orders, you're not interrogating, you're not demanding that the sink be Cloroxed every five minutes, whatever it is that you tend to have problems with at home, because adrenaline, again, is that main neurotransmitter that tells your system to look around for danger. Now, if there is no danger, it will make up danger. The danger becomes, I don't know, the refrigerator has spoiled food in it, or one of your kids is talking too loudly, or there's toys on the floor, or the driver in front of you when you're driving somewhere. Um, it's an out, it causes outward focus. So when you are driving around, say, and maybe it's on your day off, and now you call a coworker, and that coworker goes, dude, you're never gonna believe what so-and-so did. That's so effed up. I can't believe that happened. And then you jump into that gravy train and you're going, yeah, and you know, he did this two years ago, and that person did this, and now both of you are amped up. You're both angry, you both have a bunch of adrenaline and cortisol in your system, and then at some point you go home, and now you're all adrenalized. Or you are working and you get off, and now you try and go to sleep and you're all adrenalized and have a bunch of cortisol in your system, and your system is having a hard time uh recalibrating so you can go to sleep.

Shifting the Narrative

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So be aware of how you're connecting with people. Now, I'm not saying if you're a first responder that you can say, you know, I just want to focus on what's happy in life. Obviously, you're not going to say that. But what you can do is you can change the conversation. You can say things like, oh yeah, dude, that's messed up. Hey, what are you going to do this weekend? Or what are you going to do on your days off? Or, hey, do you have any vacations planned? You can shift the narrative. And you don't even have to tell that person why you're shifting it, but it will help that person because they're going to get used to talking about things that are fun, things that they can enjoy, and it calms their system down, although that's not technically your responsibility, but it's a nice thing to do. But you're also calming your system down. So in between calls, in between deployments, when you have downtime, be careful what you're chatting about.

Physical Consequences of Constant Stress

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Be careful that you're not just standing around with your coworkers talking about how everything sucks and then you die. Because it really does affect mood, it affects your ability to sleep, it affects your blood pressure. I've had guys that have high blood pressure, they go off on another injury, maybe a knee injury or something, and within three months, their blood pressure is starting to really normalize. All that adrenaline and cortisol, if you don't get it calmed down, it impacts everything. Everything from acid reflux to IBS to snoring, sleep apnea, and also it really affects the heart and the stomach. So really think about what you can do to cool

Strategies for Recalibration

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it down. Avoid standing around talking to your colleagues about everything that sucks, refocus the conversation, or walk away and say, hey, you know what, I gotta go do this. I'll see you guys later. Have a good day. Or, you know what, I think I'm gonna go in and clean something. And I gotta clean some stuff out of my locker. Or, you know what, I'm I'm gonna go, I don't know, polish the fire engine, or I've got to go do something. Walk away, give them a reason you're walking away. You don't have to tell them, you know what, I'm sick of you guys talking trash all the time. You don't have to say that. But you can kind of set that nonverbal boundary and get away from them and start, I don't know, put some happy music on. Put a podcast that's, you know, I don't know, interesting that isn't gonna fire you up. Put some comedy on. Do something that is gonna lighten the mood. Do something that is going to make you feel better, is gonna reduce that adrenaline and cortisol, and help you not be so hot when you're running just hot all the time. It really does impact your entire body. So again, be careful how you're connecting with people and how you're connecting

Conclusion: Choosing a Better Life

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with them. And if you're spending time on your days off with these same people, make a deal with them and say, hey, can we not talk shop? Let's talk about something else. You know, hey, I heard, you know, there's a local baseball game. Maybe you we should go catch it. Or, you know, hey, have you um ever played pickleball? I don't know. But go focus on something besides how everything sucks at your department, your station, you know, your supervisors, whoever. Stay away from that. Cool your system down, your whole system will thank you, and so will your family. Hope this helps. Some things to think about. I hope you have a wonderful day. You deserve to be happy. You deserve to enjoy your retirement with your family intact. You deserve a good life. So take some steps. They're small ones, but if you keep taking those small steps, your life will be better. Take care. This is Dr. Jana Price-Sharps with Mindpilot.