Here’s the number one technique for de-stressing and soothing anxiety symptoms – right now…
You have to shut your mental chatter up, right? Nearly all thought is automated and drifts from one thing to another without you having to put the slightest effort in, right?
Each thought is usually either …
- something from your ‘things to do’ list, or
- something coming up you’re worried about or
- a re-hash of something distressing or unsatisfactory that has already happened that you wish had not happened or at least happened differently.
Each thought is a wind-up, provoking an unpleasant emotional response – anxiety, shame, irritability, regret, worry, etc. These emotions are body-states, caused by biochemical profiles which make you feel – well, not good.
How do you shut your mental chatter? By making you brain pay attention to what is happening right now. Go for three things:
ONE – notice what your breathing feels like. You don’t have to change it; just pay attention to it. If it feels a bit not-right then slow down the out-breath by humming. Imagine you’re singing the last, longggggg note of a favourite song.
TWO – pay attention to your feet (feel them, don’t look at them); can you feel socks/tights or not? Can you feel if they’re warm or cool or neither? Can you feel if one feels more there than the other one? Can you can feel some slight tingling in the toes (this might take a while to kick in…)
THREE – notice what’s beautiful around you; really have a look. There’s always something.
Keep going through these three things until you can do them all simultaneously – pretty much – for five minutes. Presto – your thoughts have stopped and your stress hormone profile is dropping, reducing anxiety.
SO worth practicing over and over so your brain learns how to do it. Real mind-control.