Monique ThompsonLicensed Professional Counselor-Supervisor & Infidelity Recovery Specialist

Self Care Snacks - 1 minute stress relief for busy adults

30 Aug 2025 · 2 min

Watch on YouTube

1:30

In this brief video, Dr. Monique Thompson, an EMDR‑trained therapist and trauma‑informed life coach, explains how busy adults can insert short "self‑care snack" activities between work sessions to shift from a stress response to a relaxed response. She emphasizes that these micro‑breaks—lasting 1 to 3 minutes—can be simple physical actions such as push‑ups, wall sits, a quick walk around the cul‑de‑sac, or a one‑minute yoga pose like downward‑facing dog. These brief bouts help the brain burn cortisol and clear adrenaline, promoting a relaxed physiological state for the majority of the day. Thompson frames self‑care as living most of the day in the relaxed response, only entering the stress response when necessary. The video ends with a call‑to‑action to follow her on Instagram and visit her website for coaching or therapy services.

Chapters

I keep about 10 or 15 minutes between my sessions throughout the day, and I work from home. That would usually mean that I could do something between sessions, but usually not a 30-minute walk. So what do I do instead? I do push-ups, or I do wall sits, or sometimes I'll just do a walk around my cul-de-sac. I want you to keep in mind that your brain really likes snacks and doesn't always require you to have a full meal. A snack would be It could be something that you do for 1 minute or for 3 minutes or 5 minutes that helps your brain to burn cortisol, get rid of the adrenaline, and return to the relaxed response. So you can do yoga for a minute, you could do a downward facing dog, you can do a walk outside for just a couple of minutes. So think about it in minute to 2-minute to 3-minute increments, and that could possibly help you find the rhythm that you need to live most of your day in your relaxed response. When we say self-care, we really mean that you're living most of the day in your relaxed response and that you're only visiting your stress response when needed. I'm Dr. Monique Thompson, EMDR-trained therapist and trauma-informed life coach. Follow me on Instagram @drmoniquethompson or visit me online drmoniquethompson.com to see if we can work together for a coaching package or for therapy.