Ramya
You already might be well-aware of all that’s written here. But hey, it’s always good to feel validated no?
So, even if it feels hard to, just
Breathe
It’s okay, all is not over yet. So, just inhale, hold, exhale and repeat.
If the situation is too stimulating, close your eyes. By blocking visual stimuli, your brain is given its much-needed break.
While there are many techniques to controlled breathing, here’s box breathing:
Slowly exhale
Then, slowly inhale to the count of four – 1-2-3-4
Hold your breath for the count of four – 1-2-3-4
Slowly exhale to the count of four – 1-2-3-4
Hold your breath for four counts – 1-2-3-4
Keep in mind that increasing your count is proportional to relieving yourself.
Did you know?
If we don’t learn to breathe naturally with our diaphragm muscle, we do not get the proper amount of oxygen into our blood to be carried to our brain and body parts.
Acknowledge what you are feeling
Don’t react, respond
Slow down. Before responding, ask yourself this: Is it worth it? If yes, take a step back. Imagine yourself to be the reader of a novel where the main character is in a similar situation as you. What can you as an outsider, see?
If you feel yourself moving along with the flow, disrupt it.
Move
Now, if you are in the middle of the meeting and about to present your speech well then, go for a bathroom break!
Walking or a change of scenery could do wonders. You just got to Move.
Sensory stimulations play a major role during stress. Removing yourself from your immediate surroundings that causes the stress can prove to be rewarding. And it goes without saying that we need physical exercises as much as our mental exercises.
Research states that respiration is the key to increasing oxygen in the brain. Exercise help with that.
Question the validity of your fears
Our mind loves to go to dark places. The more you try not to think about it, you end up thinking about it. Then,
Ask yourself these questions:
- Can something be done about it right now?
- If no, what can I do now other than worrying?
- Where is the evidence that what I am fearing is true?
- How high is the probability of it happening?
- What would I tell someone in my position?
Your mind tells you what could’ve been, but a reversal of time is impossible. Even while knowing this, it would be hard but, you got to win the fight. The present is what you need to force yourself to see. Gambatte!
Limit Caffeine and hydrate yourself with water
I know the lot of us are caffeine addicts. While, it does give you the rush of adrenaline and a boost in energy, like everything after the high you come to a depressing low.
Trust me, it isn’t worth it. Instead, have a glass of water every other hour/two. Stay hydrated.
I even suggest meditating on water. Look at it, listen to the water flowing. It gives off quite the soothing vibes.
Decompress
Distract yourself by either watching something funny or reading a book. Laughter releases hormones that calm you down and allow you to be in control.
If you are anxious about presenting your speech in front of a crowd, distracting yourself from that thought right before the speech could help calm you down. Even visualizing yourself in a positive light helps too.
Get adequate sleep
I know when anxiety looms over your head, it’s hard to sleep. Lack of preparation and regrets from having procrastinated till the end will eat you up. But, thinking by sacrificing your sleep, you would have a turn-about is wrong. You will only end up with a tired mind and might fall asleep when it counts.
Think to yourself that it’s no use thinking of what could’ve been. To be at you’re A-game, you need sleep. Acknowledge that you cannot turn back time and that all is not over yet.
So, get some shut-eye while you can.
Ask for help
When you feel too overwhelmed, reach out to people. If you are awaiting to get called for an interview, text anyone you feel comfortable with. Pour your feelings to them. While they aren’t going to be saying anything you don’t know, it will feel good to have an outlet.
Having your feelings out in the open may make you feel vulnerable. It does not mean you are vulnerable. It actually helps sort out your thoughts.
It will be the same as writing down your thoughts. While this will be self-reflective, being open about your feelings to another person may help lessen the burden you might be feeling.
Mentally prepare
Practice will make one perfect. While I do not believe in Perfection, it certainly helps to be prepared.
There are a lot of apps/games that can help you with it.
Conclusion
There are always second chances. No experience, even one of defeat is worthless. It is important that when you try again, you should not envision the failure that you experienced but what you learnt from the last time.
It’s okay to be scared. It just means you care. The ONLY way is to be scared and still do it. Just don’t stop looking ahead as much as you look back.
It is again easy to say all this but hard to look past I know but, you have to.
very well elaborated and very informative article. Keep it up and all the best.
amazing article ..kudos buddy 🙂
Great, helpful suggestions!
Very engaging and scientific, keep up the good work.
Excellent, informative, and very helpful.
Great Share
Great content, ramya. A more detailed information on subtopics would’ve helped
The tittle of the article is amazing… personally I like it…. informative…. knowledgeable..very engaging and scientific…keep going
Well articulated and elaborate article. The content was very engaging and interesting. Good job . Very well done !
All the points that you have mentioned, are fairly valid and extremely helpful. It was very engaging, and I cannot wait to try them for myself. I want to thank you for these strategies.
This article is much needed. Very informative, engaging and well written.
Great work Ramya! ✨
Hello,
Thank you very much for sharing this article. I was really trying to analyse myself as I was reading the article. And I was also constantly trying the box breathing technique. It was very informative. I was not aware of the humour and change in visual stimuli factor. All the best for your future.
Amidst this covid situation, that has put immense pressure on everyone, literally everyone from all walks of life, this article really proves extremely relevant. The aspect of well being, especially mental well being is something that is often overlooked and this piece of writing really sheds light on this aspect. Looking forward to reading more of your works.
The tips are very nice and applicable in daily life. These tips are useful for every person and can be practiced easily but more information related to the psychological aspect of a stressful situation and also how the HPA axis works could have been added. Also, the introduction could have created more impact.
MOST NEEDED, IN THIS RUNNING PACE OF LIFE. Need of the hour facts…
This is an extremely useful and well written article.
You’ve mentioned some really useful tips. Thank you for sharing this, I’m sure a lot of the readers can relate and find this useful. Great work! 😀
this article really does cover majority of ways to handle yourself in stressful situations. good job
Helpful topic. Admired
a well structured and written article, adding pictures will make it more attractive.Loved it
The article gives us several ways to calm ourselves. Drinking water will also heps us sometimes to destress and let our worries go off.
This is an extremely valid article especially given the current circumstances. I would recommend using more scientific terms while explaining certain things and maybe explaining the psychological aspects.. but otherwise great article.
All facts
Informative article, but just want to know can we mention rehab part to calm ourselves in heavy situations.
A very useful and engaging writeup and tell us the most basic things to do during a stressful situations. Just an introduction about what can be termed as heavy situations would have been cherry on top. Nicely written and elaborated! Great job!!
Simple and easy to understand, well detailed and informative. Good job.
A good article. Beautiful way of portaryal. There is a little bit of grammatical error. Everything rest is done well and engaging. Good ‘Did you know’ part.
Great tips, Ramya. Very doable and easy!
However, a crisp introduction would have given the article a very professional touch.
Other tips such as journaling, hobbies, talking to a trusted person, pampering with a favourite pastime could work wonders too!
Informative and well researched article
Amazing. These are such simple techniques but we tend to take it all for granted. This will help people to realise that these simple things can make a lot of difference. This is well elaborated.
The article is very well informative and fun to read. It can really engage us in it to practice these. Loved it!
This article has great content. All the points that you have mentioned, are fairly valid and extremely helpful. Thank you for these strategies which you have mentioned. Just a suggestion more detailed information on subtopics would add more value to your piece. Best of luck!!
A very engaging article! Your writing style is professional, yet personal which made me feel emotionally connected to it. The techniques given to calm ourselves down are genuinely helpful, and not superficial like “just relax”. I genuinely believe this article will help people in stressful situation. Maybe adding more references can give you more credibility for your points. Amazing job!
Explained well by considering real life situations. Great work. Happy writing friend.
It’s really important to be prepare our self for any situations, to make our self more strong and powerful mentally, emotionally and physically.not just for our own self; our family, friends, relatives and finally for all society. So its really important to know the ways and use those ways when we need that. Thanks alot for this important topic.
This article is great. It is just the right set of method that one is looking for when trying to calm down. You have stated the facts and points well, making it more elaborate and easy to understand. A really helpful article.
very well written article. keep on spreading positivity
Well written…you could also include and write a self help guide… making it more informative..
Very informative and helpful article.
awesome. keep writing more articles
An article with helpful suggestions. Ive found the box breathing really supports at sudden stressful situations. All kinds of breath work can improve our overall mood.
Loved how you explained each and everything! Thank you, this is really helpful. Keep writing more ❤️
Very precisely written. And it can be a very helpful article for many people to help them cope up when feeling overwhelmed, stressed or tensed. Good job.
Hey Ramya, loved this article. It is very well articulated and provides so many options in simple and practical steps tht are easy to follow. I also like how it is easy tpo read and the language straight way goes into the mind! looking forward to reading more stuff from you.
Thtsss such an amazing one keep gng
Breathing properly is very important as it helps us to calm and while meditating or even doing yoga concentration on breathing is very important. This article is the perfect description of all. As it states breathing and many other techniques to calm yourself. But I think more interventions should be added on how to calm yourself down. That’s all! But the article is amazing.
Very helpful. Will surely be suggesting around
Take a Deep Breath. Breathing deeply and slowly triggers the body to stop releasing stress hormones and start to relax.now a days people are doing just only breathing.I feel belly breathing is the solution to all problems..Any how thanks for sharing.Well explained.
this article is really good and the tips are really heplful.
That was really helpful. Thanks!!