Emergency coping strategies for stress and anxiety. Easy to use techniques when it all gets too much.
Stress and anxiety can affect us all at some point, it is a normal response to situations that are new, unfamiliar or we somehow don’t feel that we have the answers. Stress and anxiety are as a result of us not having a plan, an exit strategy or knowing what to do. Because we feel that we can’t resolve it we can respond from a place of anxiety, panic or overwhelm.
Knowing that it is a normal response can change your perspective, which is often one of enormity. Knowing that your mind and body are simply responding the way that they are designed to - to alert you to a potentially dangerous situation - can help you calm the response down. The responses can be triggered from your reptilian brain, which is millions of evolutionary years old and outdated; your Amygdala which is your danger alert system and is often hyper-vigilant; or as a result of a previous scary/fearful or dangerous situation, your Hippocampus.
But enough of the science. What is really important is how you can change this.
These simple techniques can help you bring your mind and body back to balance so that you can view situations from a different perspective.
Humour – by adding something that is amusing to any event will change your perception of it.
The drama triangle - don’t get drawn into someone else’s drama, if you are a perpetrator, rescuer or victim of the drama then you are helping to keep it going.
How do I? – Asking the How question instead of why empowers you to find a resolution.
Reason with yourself – Is it really that important/serious. Will it matter in 6 months/5 years?
Distancing - physically moving that image in your head by moving it away makes the problem seem smaller and less significant. Let it float away on a balloon.
Move it away - look at the problem as something outside your mind, then move it further away or take a physical step back, it works wonders. step back from it.
Breathe it away – Breath is for 5 then out for 7, focus on the out-breath.
Use the What if? Question – What if things get better / go right? What is the worst that could happen?
Compartmentalise – put it to one side, in a box or behind you.
Worry Session – acknowledge those things, maybe write them down, journaling can help you gain perspective.
Beam me up Scottie – imagine being beamed up to a spaceship and seeing the situation from there.
Being thankful for the small stuff – focus on the good things in each and every day. This helps you have a sense of balance that there is both good/calm as well as stress/anxiety.