Many people are describing their nervous system as fired up lately.
It may be politics, the environment, recent tragedy, and it could also be business as usual in personal relationships or work.
What do you notice in your body when it's distressed from worry, fear, anger, to name a few of the emotions that can fire us up in a way that isn't useful over the long haul. What do you notice if you are worn down?
Do you notice? This is the place to start. As I often say, you do not need to become a meditation lover or completely stop your love of getting stuff done. Just begin to notice.
Flexibility is SO helpful here - You get to judge what feels good to you. It's not in a book or a podcast. There is no single answer.
As an aside, the word stress has become a catch-all for lots of emotions. Get more discerning - rename it as irritation, fear, anger, worry, sadness... or another description.
Here is a simple way to judge if "stress" is serving or not serving you:
How does it feel in your body?
It's only in recent history that medical, psychological, and neuroscience research demonstrates that our heads are connected to our bodies. I'm being facetious, but think about it - our bodies are an incredible well of information, if only we would listen.
Once you've identified that your nervous system is talking to you, don't judge it, it's part of being human.
Here's the thing - how you manage your energy in any area of your life impacts your outcome. If you are running a company, managing a team, taking care of others, parenting, or competing in sports, you bet your energy is effecting both your performance as well as people around you.
If current events are firing you up more than usual, what we know in psychology is that naming and allowing a feeling is far more effective than pretending it doesn't exist or being annoyed with yourself for how you feel.