I am thinking of you all as we navigate the new conditions this pandemic is creating. Many people are reporting unusually high levels of stress and increased anxiety. I want to remind you to pay extra attention to what you can do, moment-to-moment, to calm (or excite) your nervous system as often during the day, and for some, the night. As you help your nervous system calm and reset, you provide the needed internal environment to reduce your stress hormones that cause the increased anxiety, headaches, fear, overeating, etc., that many are struggling with.
How can you calm your nervous system and give it a chance to reboot?
A key reminder, whatever you do, grows. Is your breathing, thinking, conversation and activity supporting calm, joy, and capability or upset and projecting fear?
Robin’s Ideas for Having a Great Day
1. Before you get out of bed in the morning:
a. Take three deep, slow belly breaths. Start your day with fresh oxygen.
b. Think of something you love or are grateful for.
c. Order up! Focus your mind on what your intention is for the day.
2. Remember your Q-TIP: Quit Taking It Personally. What other people say and do is about their wants and needs; it’s not about you.
3. Connect with at least one person every day in a meaningful, uplifting manner.
4. Notice and celebrate your accomplishments. Congratulate yourself any time you remember to breathe and calm down instead of snapping at your child, coworker, or spouse.
5. Drink plenty of water. Hydration supports your energy level and flushes your toxins.
6. Get up and move. Take a five-minute walk. Stretch. Moving your body frequently during the day will help you maintain a better cognitive and emotional balance.
7. Listen to music that inspires you. Choose songs that move you to laughter, smiles, tears, or any emotion that is real for you.
8. Fill your days with gratitude. Make a list of what you are grateful for and put that list where you can see it easily. Make it a regular habit to be grateful.
9. Stop engaging in conversations that trigger your survival brain. Steer clear of shaming, blaming, and complaining. Reroute or disengage from conversations that include criticizing, comparing, or recycling disappointments. Stop initiating or participating in put-downs or snide remarks, gossip, whining, or angry outbursts. Don’t energize the drama.
10. Focus on what you do want rather than what you don’t want. Remember, your brain does not process negatives. Replace what you don’t want with a request for what you do want – in your own mind and in your conversations with others.
11. Laugh! Who makes you laugh, chuckle, and grin? Include contact with them or thoughts of them often.
12. If your children are upset, use your breathing to calm their difficult moments. When you are breathing fully and easily, you can parent consistently and calmly.
13. Feel your feelings - but act from your values. Remember, you can have strong and uncomfortable feelings and still choose behaviors that are in alignment with your values.
Robin Rose
Author, Trainer and Consultant
https://www.robinrose.com/
How can you calm your nervous system and give it a chance to reboot?
A key reminder, whatever you do, grows. Is your breathing, thinking, conversation and activity supporting calm, joy, and capability or upset and projecting fear?
- Breathe – low and slow. BELLY out first. 4-6 breaths a minute. Can you do this breathing on the hour or a few times a day?
- Engage your inner coach. Remind yourself in your self-talk, that while you might not like what is going on, you have the skills to work with it.
- Play soothing music in the background. Your nervous system will ‘entrain’ or sync to the beat. If you can find music you enjoy without words, all the better.
- Watch your sugar and caffeine consumption; both increase stress hormones.
- Find a conversation friend – someone who is able to have conversations that include humor, appreciation, and good brain-storming. Intentionally stay away from projecting fear, overwhelm, and dismay.
- Remember to build your life around your joy.
Robin’s Ideas for Having a Great Day
1. Before you get out of bed in the morning:
a. Take three deep, slow belly breaths. Start your day with fresh oxygen.
b. Think of something you love or are grateful for.
c. Order up! Focus your mind on what your intention is for the day.
2. Remember your Q-TIP: Quit Taking It Personally. What other people say and do is about their wants and needs; it’s not about you.
3. Connect with at least one person every day in a meaningful, uplifting manner.
4. Notice and celebrate your accomplishments. Congratulate yourself any time you remember to breathe and calm down instead of snapping at your child, coworker, or spouse.
5. Drink plenty of water. Hydration supports your energy level and flushes your toxins.
6. Get up and move. Take a five-minute walk. Stretch. Moving your body frequently during the day will help you maintain a better cognitive and emotional balance.
7. Listen to music that inspires you. Choose songs that move you to laughter, smiles, tears, or any emotion that is real for you.
8. Fill your days with gratitude. Make a list of what you are grateful for and put that list where you can see it easily. Make it a regular habit to be grateful.
9. Stop engaging in conversations that trigger your survival brain. Steer clear of shaming, blaming, and complaining. Reroute or disengage from conversations that include criticizing, comparing, or recycling disappointments. Stop initiating or participating in put-downs or snide remarks, gossip, whining, or angry outbursts. Don’t energize the drama.
10. Focus on what you do want rather than what you don’t want. Remember, your brain does not process negatives. Replace what you don’t want with a request for what you do want – in your own mind and in your conversations with others.
11. Laugh! Who makes you laugh, chuckle, and grin? Include contact with them or thoughts of them often.
12. If your children are upset, use your breathing to calm their difficult moments. When you are breathing fully and easily, you can parent consistently and calmly.
13. Feel your feelings - but act from your values. Remember, you can have strong and uncomfortable feelings and still choose behaviors that are in alignment with your values.
Robin Rose
Author, Trainer and Consultant
https://www.robinrose.com/
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