We all experience stress on a regular basis. Some of us more than others and depending on the season, certain periods can be more stressful than others. Apart from stress, many of us struggle with anxiety, depression, trauma, and anger issues. We can sometimes get triggered and we can find ourselves having spiraling negative thoughts that are difficult to control. Additionally, dwelling on our fears, over-thinking what happened in our past, or worrying about an unknown future can increase our anxiety. For some people, such thoughts can affect our sleep, making it difficult to go to sleep or stay asleep. If you can relate to any of these issues, here are three techniques that can keep you grounded and reduce your stress:
1. Square Breathing
This breathing technique is also called Box breathing. It is beneficial to calm your mind and body, release negative thoughts and emotions, and improve focus on the present. You can do this at any time of day when standing, sitting, or lying down. This is how you do it:
- Breath in for 4 seconds
- Hold your breath for 4 seconds
- Breath out for 4 seconds
- Hold your breath for 4 seconds
- Repeat this sequence over and over until you feel calm
You can vary how many seconds by doing 3 seconds or increasing to 6 seconds, whatever feels comfortable. Practice using the video below.
2. 5 Senses Mindfulness Exercise
This technique is very helpful in distracting your thoughts and bringing you back to the present. The practice involves paying attention to your 5 senses in this moment i.e. sight, touch, hearing, smell, and taste. Similarly to square breathing, you can do it whenever you need to. This is how it goes:
- Sight. What are 5 things you can see?
- Touch. What are 4 things you can touch or feel?
- Hear. What are 3 things you can hear?
- Smell. What are 2 things you can smell?
- Taste. What is 1 thing you can taste?
Could you think of anything else while doing this? Most likely not!
You don’t have to follow the exact order of how many things you are paying attention to. You can make it longer or shorter by focusing on 10 blue things you can see, 2 hard things you can touch, 5 sounds you can hear. You get my point. Here is a video you can use to practice.
3. Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR)
This technique is good for managing your body’s reaction to anxiety. It has been shown to have multiple benefits for mental as well as physical conditions such as anxiety, migraines, headaches, sleep issues, and more. It involves tensing and relaxing each of your body parts progressively. Here is a written description if you prefer that. If you are having a hard time falling asleep, you can play this video and follow along. The video below walks you through the process.
Practice is really what makes the difference and the more you practice, the greater benefits you’ll notice. There are kids variations for each of these so do some YouTube searches and get your kids involved.
Dr Ajab, you’re doing a wonderful job – keep up!
Thanks for the encouragement