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Feeling stressed? Do the physiological sigh. Big breath in, short breath in, big sigh out.
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Feeling anxious? Go for a walk, when you walk your eyes naturally scan from side to side which deactivates your amygdala, and relaxes the body.
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Are you feeling Sad? Acknowledge your feelings, validate yourself and then move your body to release endorphins.
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If you’re feeling impulsive or angry, look out of the window, but don’t look AT anything, dilate your gaze, or zone out, this blunts noradrenaline, so you can think clearly.
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If you have low motivation, focus intently on one sopt on your screen for one minute and ignore everything else pupillary convergence increases focus.
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If you’re feeling insecure, write down your strengths, as the logic systems override the limbic system.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed, here’s some things that help, , journaling, writing down what you’re grateful for, going out in nature, breath work (wim hof), go for a drive or move your body with dance etc. This can help you sooth those emotions and regain balance, so those emotions aren’t filling up the whole screen and you can see around them again, and find ways to help yourself in the moment.
Credit: Anna Akana, Dr Nicole A. Tetreault.
I absolutely get you. And it should not be understated how immensely hard that is to do. Start small and practice. Start with the small emotions.
It’s like how soldiers train repeatedly so when their fight or flight systems activate in a war zone, their muscle memory takes over and they don’t freeze, they can keep going. The more you practice, the better you get at anything. This one is a hugely hard one. The more you practice, the smaller the bigger emotions become. Emotions are an emergency alarm system, and if it thinks you didn’t hear the alarm, it gets louder and louder, until it’s crippling. So the more you practice, the less often you get hit with the crippling emotions.