Pushing Pause on Pressing Problems
Three practical, non-pharmaceutical ways to soothe an anxious spirit
There is no shortage of reasons for feeling stomach-in-knots, thoughts-swirling-ly anxious right now. Don’t worry; we’re not going to list out the tsunami of stress-inducing chaos we’re all experiencing just to prove the point. This is The Sunday Stretch, not The Sunday Soul Sucker; we want to “reestablish harmony, encourage presence, and spark the spirit,” not erode and crush it. So here are three simple things I’m doing to quell internal alarm bells and tamp down the anxiety.
Breaking (from the) news
We used to invite news into our lives, but now it jack-in-the-boxes into our world unbidden. Unplugging permanently isn’t realistic and, while psychological avoidance may feel good temporarily, it can exacerbate the problem and create more anxiety in the long-term. So, in an attempt to balance engagement and avoidance, I’ve built a news moat around the start and end of my day—no news for the first and last 30 minutes of the day. I’m also trying to build more phone-free time into my life—leaving it behind when I go for a walk with a friend or in another room when I’m reading a book.
Picturing thanks
I believe strongly in the power of gratitude. In part because, as I wrote earlier: “It is a grounding touchstone to what we value, what matters most to us, and to what we want to protect. It helps us reassert our humanity and can create an energy of change.”
But I’ve never been one to write in a gratitude journal. So I’m using my phone as more than a portal to tension by taking at least one photo a day of a moment or thing I’m grateful for—mostly flowers, cute dogs, and my son doing goofy things. As Michelle Gielan writes in Broadcasting Happiness, which is where I picked up this practice, this “trains your brain to watch for moments to capture … It refocuses your attention on the positive and meaningful parts of the day … and shifts it away from stress and negativity.”
Breathing deeply
The advice to take a deep breath may seem trite, annoying, or cliché, but there’s solid science behind it. When our exhale is even a few counts longer than our inhale, the vagus nerve (a winding nerve that runs from our neck through our diaphragm) tells the nervous system to chill out. Our heart rate drops, our blood pressure lowers, the blood vessels relax, and our whole body physically calms down. Studies have shown one of the most effective ways to do this is the physiological or cyclic sigh1. Practicing this breathing technique for five minutes has immediate impact, lowering anxiety, improving mood, and calming the body. Here’s how to do it:
Inhale through your nose.
At the top of the inhale, sip in a little more air.
Exhale through your mouth with a long sigh.
Repeat five times or more.
Feeling lighter,
Kelly
“train your brain to watch for moments to capture,” is so well said.