As we continue our collective journey through these unknown waters, a known side-effect for trying to make our ways is that many are experiencing heightened senses of anxiety.
With anxious thoughts echoing in the recesses of our mind, it is often hard to bring the intensity of their volume down and “quiet” one’s mind. Hard, but not impossible!
This week’s Feel Good Friday shares some techniques from Healthline that can ground one’s self and bring some clarity to distressing moments.
1. Put your hands in water
Focus on the sensation the water provides your hands, and concentrate on how it feels different (or similar) for each part of your hand. This will ground you, and trick you into concentrating on the moment as opposed to fretting about the future.
Then, try adjusting the water’s temperature, and analyze how the water’s sensation shifts from one state (the cold) to the other (the warm)
2. Pick up or touch items near you
Concentrate on the item’s properties. Is the item hard? Soft? Angular? Curved? Concentrate on how you would describe the item if you weren’t allowed to say the item’s name.
3. Breathe deeply
Breathe in for three seconds, then outward for three seconds. Another breathing excercise is to breathe in quietly through the nose for four seconds. hold the breath for a count of seven seconds … then exhale forcefully through the mouth, pursing the lips, for eight seconds.
4. Savor a food or drink
As you bite into food, or take a sip of a drink, concentrate on how that food or drink tastes, and contemplate how you would describe that flavor to a loved one.
5. Take a short walk
But don’t “just walk.” Concentrate on each step. Notice your gait, and the effect that it has on your body’s movements.
Perhaps by now you’ve noticed a pattern. Each action focuses on keeping your mind on the “here and now,” this moment.
Anxiety is largely influenced by one’s fear of the future, and the inability to predict it. By centering one’s self on the moment, not only does it take our mind off of what we can not control, but it grounds us to what we can.
This moment. Now.
What is within your power right now, at this very instant, and how can it help your overall journey?
Click here for the remaining items on Healthline’s list of techniques.