It doesn’t matter what you do for a living or how you live your life, we all need suggestions on how to feel calm from time to time. Life is getting harder, or so it feels. The cost of living is getting higher, the inflation rate is going through the roof, wages are stagnating, and all of this is happening while companies are boasting about record profits.
This means that the little people, the ones who work hard, are the ones who don’t get to have a say in what happens, we just have to keep going with it. Even when life is hard, even when things feel desperate, we have to keep going and that can make us feel panicky, scared and more anxious than we’ve ever felt in life. Elites the people feeling easily overwhelmed, over stimulated, and unable to calm themselves down. There is a massive influx of panic attacks and anxiety attacks, and people taking antidepressants or anti anxiety medication. There are those who turn to things like yoga and breathwork when it comes to wanting to feel calm, but these aren’t always the immediate solutions for some people. In fact, trying to compile all of the ways that you could calm down is not the easiest thing to do.
It can be very difficult to tell yourself to take a moment and just breathe, but that’s what this article is for. We’ve put together that list for you, the list of things that you can do to feel calmer when you need to.
- Massage. On your lunch break, or after work, or at the weekend, massage Is going to help you to feel calm. Hand massages can be self taught, but it’s even better if you have a professional do it for you. There are certain massages such as remedial massage or relaxation massage that are designed to literally calm your immune system and your nervous system down. When you’re stuck in the office and you need some help, simply push your thumb from one hand around the palm of the other. It can make all the difference and make you feel calmer in the moment.
- Practicing meditation. Along with things like yoga and breathwork that we mentioned earlier, most people like to practice mindfulness. This is the practice of focusing on the present rather than worrying about the future. Sure, things can and do go wrong, but if you’re spending your time panicking about what could go wrong in the future, you’re never really going to focus on what’s in the present. If you learn how to meditate, you’ll be able to enjoy benefits such as staying positive or balancing out your emotions. You’ll be able to reduce your stress and improve your ability to be introspective. This will help your productivity and make you feel better about yourself. The good news is that with a quick browse on YouTube, you’ll be able to find plenty of videos with guided meditation. There are apps out there on the market like calm and headspace that can also help. You’ll be able to build yourself towards goals about being calmer in yourself.
- Learn how to breathe. One thing that we all know how to do with instinct is breathe, of course. But do you know how to really breathe? Do you know how to take your breath right into your lungs and blow it out slowly so that you can calm your mind and feel happy? Most people don’t. In fact, most people hold their breath in times of crisis which means that they are not getting any oxygen to their lungs or to their brains or to their hearts. One of the most important parts of mindfulness activities such as meditation and yoga is to breathe. If you’re strapped for time, however, focused breathing can really help you to relax and it doesn’t have to take much time or energy on your part. Breathing correctly will also help you to have more energy.
- Read. An excellent way to feel far calmer in life is to read a book. Getting into another world and pushing your mind into something other than everything that’s stressing you out is a great way to keep your brain from spiraling out of control. Not only can you find books on meditation and mindfulness and being a more calm person out there, you’re also able to read books that have nothing to do with your current everyday problems. Diving into another world is an excellent escape without having to even leave the room that you’re in. It helps you to stay productive and think critically as well as clear your mind. If you don’t have any unread books on your shelf and you don’t fancy revisiting a world you’ve really been to, libraries are there for a reason. Either treat yourself to kindle and go through their unlimited library, or head out to an actual library and find a comfortable chair.
- Make sure that you have good routines. A good way to ground yourself and feel more settled is to make sure that your routines are in place. Routines are a good way to stay productive, and yes it can be scary for those routines to be out of whack. It doesn’t have to be that way though, in fact you can make sure that your routines stay simple. Some of the things that you can do to bring some more routine into your life are things like waking up and going to sleep around the same time every day. Not only will you regulate the natural clock inside your body, you will feel better for the amount of sleep you are getting on a regular basis. Make sure that your morning routine is a good one. This should include breakfast, fresh air, a shower or even a run. The whole idea is to get yourself up, awake and ready for the day ahead. You could even find some time for hobbies. Making sure that your day has some hobbies involved will help you to look forward to something that isn’t work that could be giving you a headache. Round off the day with a good evening routine such as taking off your makeup and having a hot bath, indulging in some self care is really going to help.
- Take a minute to close your eyes. When you are over-stimulated you might find that sitting back in your chair, whether at home or at work, and just closing your eyes and breathing slowly for a few seconds can help. Much of our overstimulation comes through our eyes, and if you are quite sensitive to the world around you just keeping your eyes closed can give yourself the time to chill out.
- Stretching. You do not have to be a gym buff yoga maven to be able to stretch. You just need to know how to stretch your body out so that it feels good. Standing on the back of your chair at work and holding onto it just to stretch the backs of your legs and your shoulders is a good way to make sure that you are not cramped in one position all day long. Making sure that you are stretching with your exercises is an effective way to release the tension that you are holding around different parts of the body. If you are a public speaker in your job, certain structures can help you to release those jitters and get rid of the nerves, allowing you to feel calm and relaxed and steel yourself to speak to a room full of people.
- Give yourself a hug. If you can’t get a hug from somebody else, you need to figure out a way to give yourself a hug from time to time. Full body compression may not be an option if you’re just cuddling yourself, but wrapping your arms around yourself and giving you a squeeze can really help you to Combat Stress, lower your risk of heart disease, and even fight fatigue. When you squeeze your belly and your back at the same time, you’re giving yourself proprioceptive input. This means allowing your body to know where you are in your space and it can help you to ground yourself and stabilize your mind. When you do this, you are keeping your feet on the ground in the most positive way.
- Go for a walk. Lastly, an excellent way to feel like your anxiety is under control is to get out into nature and go for a walk. Taking in some fresh air, seeing the trees on the grass and feeling the wind on your face is going to make a big difference to how calm you feel.
Your mental health is so important and that means doing all that you can to feel in control of yourself. When you choose to calm yourself down, you are giving yourself time to be present in the world again.
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