How “Orienting” Can Protect You from Chronic Stress

It’s as simple as looking out the window

I’ve worked in highly stressful jobs most of my adult life.

The accumulated stress in combination with traumatic events burned me out. It also activated a not uncommon genetic trait, called Hereditary Alpha Tryptasemia, that caused my health to nosedive.

As a result, I wanted (and needed) to learn how to calm my overly activated nervous system. I became a student of stress and trauma. I’ve studied with different psychotherapists and nervous system experts like Irene Lyon, MSc., and Elaine Miller-Karas, LCSW, co-creator of the Community Resiliency Model.

I’d like to share with you a very simple method from somatic-based trauma work that can help you lower your stress levels, whether you have trauma or not. This simple practice has helped me tremendously.

It’s called “orienting,” which means orienting to the environment around you.

Orienting: The Biological Secret to Less Stress

There are two types of orienting: defensive and exploratory. Defensive orienting is an automatic response to a potentially dangerous trigger in the environment. Like when you hear a loud bang, you can’t help but turn in the direction…