Close your eyes. How did your body feel today?
Exploring the sensations that the body goes through, such as getting your palms sweaty when you did something scary like going and talking to a cute girl or guy, or the feeling of your heart racing, or even a headache is a good thing!
Because, it is when we explore the body that we learn to correct it.
More often than not, your body is a pretty good indicator of how much stress you experienced in the day. Were you able to recognize any of the emotions or sensations that we discussed in Part 1?
Whenever we get stressed or anxious, it’s always best to simply watch how our body reacts to it. For example, we spoke about how the body generates adrenaline and cortisol to protect you during a stressful event. So, when you’re stressed, did you at any point feel like running away? On the contrary, did you want to get confrontational? Perhaps you sensed your heart rate going down after a fight.
Notice these small changes that happen to your body as you go about your day.
How To Keep Calm In Troubled Times:
Here are 7 methods of dealing with stress that you can implement today:
1. Plan Ahead: Implementing some simple strategies like, if “X” happens then I will do “Y”, can help you face challenges as and when they arise.
2. Focus on Breathing: Practicing slowly controlled breathing (inhale through your nose, exhale through your mouth) when you feel nervous or overwhelmed can help you in returning to the present moment with less stress.
3. Exercise: Physical activity stimulates the production of endorphins. Researchers found that just 40 minutes of exercise is good enough to dramatically enhance your mood.
4. Avoid Asking ‘What If’: The faster you release those worrying thoughts about endless possible outcomes, the lesser time you will spend fixating on feeling uncomfortable. Try to accept that some questions won’t have a simple answer.
5. Focus On The Positives: Keep a go-to list of positives in your mind so that you can immediately shift your attention towards them, when your thoughts are negative. This will not only boost your mood but remind you of the people or things you are grateful for.
6. Reject Negative Self Talk: Most number of times, you consider negative thoughts about yourself as – FACTS. Instead, try to identify such thoughts as merely thoughts or statements. Saying “ It’s just a thought, it will go away” will help release you into a calmer state of mind.
7. Forgiveness: Nobody is perfect. Holding onto resentment will simply add to your fear and stress.
Acknowledge negativity before you step out of it. Know those thoughts that create stress and then correct them. Identifying them will help you walk out clear-headed and one step ahead of stress.