6 Tips on Hot To Stay Calm In Difficult Times
No matter if it’s the current happenings in the world or something “smaller” mainly affecting your immediate personal life: we all go through difficult times that can really shake us up.
How often have we allowed for our feelings to rush over us and take control of our emotional state and the way we think and act?
Paralyzed, ungrounded, with a racing mind not being able to think clearly, sleepless nights, unable to eat or overeating, etc.
In those times, we get shaken out of our center as if a tornado has been sweeping through our life and we struggle to determine what is real, a fact or a creation of our oh-so-capable mind.
It then is important to swiftly find back to our core to be able to see what is real and to maneuver through this time the best way possible.
Below I am sharing few tips on how to find your center again, which are simple and easy to do.
Deep Breathing & Listening Inwards
First and foremost, breathe!
Close your eyes and take deep breaths into the belly.
Notice how it expands; hold the breath for a moment and then exhale. Making the exhalation longer than the inhalation.
Repeat this for as long as needed – I recommend at least 10 deep breaths – and then keeping your eyes closed, tune inwards.
Listen.
How do you feel inside?
What do you know is true?
What do you know is a fact?
What do you need right now to stay calm and remain in your center?
What do you need to get, let go of, or understand in order to move through this situation?
Remain there in silence.
Listening to your body.
Notice how you feel, what comes up and look for the calm inside of you.
When you found it, remain there for as long as needed.
When you feel it’s time, gently deepen your breath again, gently move fingers and toes, shoulders, etc. and slowly open your eyes again.
Hold on to that feeling of calm and stillness.
And review now what has been upsetting you, putting you out of track and see now what are the possible solutions to this.
Disconnect from Social Media and The News
Especially if it is happenings that are in the main stream press that upset and worry you, disconnect from them.
Avoid the bulletin papers, the sensation seeking TV shows and radio stations.
All they try to do is instill further fear and worry and increase their sales by people buying, sharing, and tuning in to their shows.
The more hype they can create, the better for them.
And the worse for you and your well-being.
The same goes for Social Media where information gets spread easily. Often the facts have not been double checked, important facts have been omitted, things have been taken out of context or they are purely made up.
Also if it is something more personal that is worrying you; aim to stay away from the media.
Your brain in those moments is focused on any information that can enhance your current state of feeling even more.
Which means you will see memes, posts, articles that will push you further away from your center and down the rabbit hole.
Look for Reliable Sources
Of course, it is important to stay informed and to look for information that supports you to get out of the hole.
For worldly happenings, instead of main stream media look for reliable sources.
Check who published the article and if they kept an objective stand point when writing it.
Are they somehow benefiting from spreading the article and pour more oil into the fire or are they considering various views, focusing on the actual facts and painting an as realistic picture of the situation as possible?
For personal happenings, look for articles written by specialists in the field of concern.
Compare various sources and see if there is a common thread.
Again avoid any source that is presenting one extreme only as this might again push you further away from your core.
Connect with Nature
In today’s world, we are constantly connected with the virtual world and receive input from all over.
This eventually over-saturates our senses and reduces our capability to think clearly.
It is therefore always great to connect with nature:
Walk barefoot on the grass.
Stroll along the shoreline.
Get yourself lost in the forest.
Hike in the mountains.
Swim in the lake.
Hug a tree.
Sit in your garden, observe the flowers and insects and feel the sun on your skin.
Connecting with nature calms us.
It slows us down.
It allows us to come back to ourselves.
It brings us into the present moment.
Connecting with nature recharges us.
How many times have you been sitting on the beach, watching the waves, hearing the sound they make and when going home you felt light and recharged?
If not the ocean, maybe it’s the forest, fields, desert or mountains for you.
Whatever it is: go connect with nature.
And while you are there not only will your mind calm down and you come back to your center, you might even see the solution of how to get through the rough times.
Connect With Friends
We humans are made to be and live in community. To connect with one another. To support each other. This is especially visible during times of natural disaster for example, when people from all over the world get active to support the people in the areas of need by donating money, food, blankets, etc.
When you go through a difficult time connect with your friends. Reach out to the ones that can be present with you, listen to you and hold space for you. Friends who remain objective and supportive and who through open-ended questions allow you to see the bigger picture and the steps to take to get out of the tough situation.
Again here, if you have friends that are overly worried and in fear mode, reduce the time you spend with them. Through their emotional state of being they push you again further away from your center and your aim of staying calm.
This is especially true during times of globally tough times. When you connect with and listen to the people that follow closely the main stream media and allow for themselves to fall into panic and fear, they can easily tag you along and put you further out of balance.
Keep Up Your Healthy Habits
When shaken up, we tend to let go of our healthy habits.
We stay in.
We binge eat.
We drink a few glasses more than usual.
We focus only on the negative or become lethargic and watch trash TV.
Staying connected to your healthy habits will support you to get through the tough times much quicker and smoother. With less resistance. Seeing and thinking clearly and finding the best way of action.
Keep working out in the morning.
Keep drinking your lemon water right after getting up.
Keep cooking healthy, savory food for yourself.
Keep connecting with your circle of close friends.
Keep meditating and writing your gratitude list.
Keep spending time with your god child and pets.
Keep doing whatever it is that makes you feel good and healthy.
Of course, if one night you really just want to stay in, eat pizza, chocolate cake and binge watch your favorite series in order to not think then do that.
Make sure though that the next day you get up again and continue with your healthy habits.
Try out the above tips and notice how you calm down.
Your cortisol and adrenaline level decrease, your parasympathetic nervous system gets activated, your mind calms and your thoughts become clear and sharp. Plus your connection to your intuition is strengthened again.
Rough times are normal.
No matter where on the self-development spectrum you are.
We all go through them.
The difference eventually is how much smoother and calmer we can get through them.
Remembering and using the tools we have learnt and listening to our body and what it tells us what it needs.
Sending you a big hug and lots of love & light,
Anne-Christin
