Everyone feels anxious, nervous, or uncomfortably edgy sometimes. Here are a few suggestions of things you can do to help ease emotional upsets. Having a calming spirit can be achieved by noticing the imbalances in your body and mind and bringing them back into balance through changing your thoughts and actions.
- Quiet Your Breathing
Whenever you are feeling the least bit anxious or nervous try to take notice of any changes in your breathing. Stress can cause hyperventilation (over-breathing). Quiet any rapid paced breaths by replacing them with steady and slow breaths. A daily meditation practice is helpful for maintaining healthy breathing and is also a good preventative measure for repressing anxieties.
- Give Your Mind a Time Out
Any time you are feeling anxious or suffering mentally it is helpful to temporarily clear your mind of all thoughts that are upsetting you. It is simply not healthy to focus on your problems 24/7. Guided visualizations are excellent mental escapes that can help you to switch your focus away from anything that is troubling you. Picture yourself in a special dream sequence where you can relax and recoup your coping skills. Choose an ocean view, desert oasis, or garden path.
- Pamper Yourself
Remove yourself from the chaos and give yourself some quality alone time. Lock yourself in the bathroom and take that much needed soak in the tub. A bubble bath is your ticket to serenity. Enjoying a rejuvenating soak is just one of several ways you can pamper yourself. Try taking a solitary walk in the park, or curling up on the sofa and reading an entertaining novel.
- Slow Down Your Responses
Everyone has made the mistake of being over-the top reactive at one time or another. We compound our conflicts by responding without getting all the facts first. When it seems that the whole world is out to get you and you feel like lashing out right away... Wait! The situation at hand probably does call for a response of some kind, but please slow down your response. You'll handle a trying situation in a calmer state, and come to a resolution sooner if you take time to fully assess the situation. Get all your ducks in a row before you decide on a response.
- Create Boundaries
You may need to step back and create some distance between yourself and anyone who is making you feel anxious. It is important to pull back from others when you are feeling overwhelmed so that you are able to reserve your energies. Having protective boundaries in place can also give you a different perspective in order to help you more fully understand and better cope with difficult situations.
- Nurture Your Inner Child
Oftentimes when we, as adults, are experiencing situations that make us feel anxious or powerless our thoughts will turn to memories from our childhoods when we experienced fear or loneliness. When children feel small and helpless they look to their parents or guardian for protection. Take a moment to be a caring and loving parent to your inner child. Let her (or him) know that you will get the two of you through this rough period. Give yourself a hug.
- Hush That Critical Voice
Sadly, we can be our own worst enemies. Don't berate yourself for not being able to meet your goals or falling short in some way. You're doing the best you can. Just relax. Refuse to listen to that critical voice inside your head that says you're not good enough. Resolve to transform any nagging words into praise for those things that you have accomplished. You're doing just fine. Affirm yourself daily. You are PERFECT!
- Lean on Somebody
Trying to take care of everything all alone can make anyone feel anxious, not to mention exhausted. It can be more of a struggle never asking for a hand than you might have realized. Seek out that soft shoulder to lean on and give yourself a rest.
- Take a Spiritual Retreat
Taking a few minutes out of your hectic day for a mental reprieve or taking a half-hour bubble bath each evening are good stress relievers. But they are probably simply not going to be sufficient for easing those larger anxieties that are slowly eating you up inside. Everyone needs a change of pace to help bring balance to their lives. You may need to take an extended vacation from work, or feel you need go off by yourself away from family members for a few days to find solace. Whereas an ordinary vacation can bring about its own stresses, a spiritual retreat feeds the spirit.
You'll come home refreshed and more readily able to face your day-do-day stresses.
Read more managing stress articles...
