Before we get into today's topic, we learned something important this week that we just had to share. In Finland, a tradition of getting drunk at home in your underwear is so commonplace that they created a word for it, "kalsarikännit." The rough translation is "pantsdrunk." (source)

Just when you think life will keep giving you lemons, a lime like this pops up to encapsulate the COVID experience. At times, life is truly exciting.

With all of January's newsletters, we'll cover some of the best stuff we watched, listened to, and read in 2020 that will help you lead a healthier, warmer, and less stressful life.

Up first is an episode from Brené Brown's podcast about burnout. From start to finish it's a great episode, but one of the most interesting things we want to highlight is that when you are going through a period of stress, simply removing the thing that causes the stress (the stressor) is not enough to heal, physiologically.

“You have to do something that signals to your body that you are safe, or else you’ll stay in that state with neuro chemicals and hormones degrading, but never shifting into relaxation. Your digestive system, immune system, cardiovascular system, musculoskeletal system and reproductive system never get the signal that they’re safe.”

In order to do that, Emily and Amelia give seven tips on how to complete the stress cycle. Two of them we already mention a lot - physical activity and breathing (see the healthy living article below). But the three below really highlight the importance of socializing and connecting with other people.

💥 Have a Positive Social Interaction - This can be as emotional as seeing family after a long-break, all the way down to a simple interaction with a cheery barista or fitness coach. Both tell your body the world is a safe place.

💥 Laugh - "It can’t be that fake laughter. It has to be the slightly embarrassing, mouth hanging open, belly jiggling, uncontrolled, ridiculous laughter that really takes over your body, you can’t stop laughing. That laughter will take you all the way through the end of a stress cycle."

💥 Get Affectionate - “A warm hug in a safe and trusting context can do as much to help your body feel like it has escaped a threat as jogging a couple of miles... The research suggests a 20-second hug can change your hormones, lower your blood pressure and heart rate and improve mood, all of which are reflected in the post-hug increase in the social bonding hormone, Oxytocin. And it’s not about the 20 seconds. It’s not about the time, it’s about leaning in, maintaining your own center of gravity, and just the vulnerability and intimacy of that."

The final two are a Have a Big Old Cry and Creative Expression. To hear about them, check out the full podcast.

Kevin & Victoria

Update: A gracious member informed us that the Finnish have written a full guide book about getting drunk in your pants! Amazing.