Tips on How to Stay Calm in Stressful Times
These feelings of uncertainty are normal. The questions you are afraid to speak about are normal and quite frankly, acceptable at a time like this. You have every right to feel discomfort, worry, fear, confusion. You are human. WE are human. We have feelings that allow for emotion, to be able to express what we love, what we are in fear of and what we want to strive for, but after self expression, we need to learn to surrender and make space for acceptance.
Even through the midst of the chaos, through the fear of not knowing what’s to come, we can rejoice. We can be faithful and practice mindfulness, presence and stillness. We can use our wise mind and create a routine for times like this so we can lower the overwhelm and enhance the gratitude of being in our current situation. We can use this time to establish a greater connection with ourselves, a grounding, conscious union between our minds and body.
What can we do? What can we practice?
Be present.
What I mean by this is be still, feel your energy in and around your body. You don’t need silence to be present, all you need to do is provide a calm, clear mind. Don’t let your mind wander too far ahead, but if you do, that’s okay, just come back into the current moment.
Take a Digital Detox.
We know social media is a wonderful platform to connect with likeminded people, but it also presents us with false news, inaccurate statistics and an overwhelm of stress and anxiety. Set your phone aside for a few hours. Keep your ringer on because if it is that important, they’ll call you.
Meditate.
Meditation goes hand in hand with being present, but this allows you to heighten the ability to be fully aware of your body and surroundings. Take at least 10-15 minutes per day. Turn on some relaxing music or just sit in silence with your eyes closed and a timer set with your preferred time. Focus on your breathing or the music itself, relax and if you catch your mind wandering off, acknowledge and come back into focus.
Take a bath.
Give yourself some time to unwind and relax. Grab your favorite book or your favorite sweet treat and grant yourself sometime to reflect. Reflection can be done anywhere, but it’s much more fun in a bath, especially paired with your favorite candle or bath bomb!
Check in with yourself.
Frequent check in’s can provide you with so many insights on how we can improve our day or moments where we might not even know how we
currently feel. Ask yourself: How am I feeling in this moment? Am I practicing positive self talk? Am I worried or afraid? What am I grateful for?
Now, these are just a few tips on how we can get through anxious, high stressed times, but everyday should occupy a time for self-care. Let’s help improve our overall mental wellness by allowing ourselves time to feel, heal and be accepting of our feelings. We aren’t perfect, we can’t fight our feelings, but we are capable and resilient and can find the greater good in hard times.
Stay healthy xx