Knowing what helps you when you feel stuck or find yourself in a difficult situation is one of the best things that you can do for yourself.
The things I’ve included below help me for more than just the moment I do them. There have been times I’ve done things that are much more grand in comparison and on the surface they got me out of a funk but it was always just a short-term fix.
I’m also an advocate for the simple things. Breathing, music and writing make up part of some people’s everyday life so I’m happy to promote how helpful it can be if you decide to do them differently for a little time each day.
Things that help are:
Deep inhale, sharp exhale – This is something I learnt in Qi-gong and the breath is accompanied by a movement. Just doing it a handful of times is enough to change how your body feels.
Box breaths – I think it’s the mix of counting and breathing that really forces you to slow down and makes you feel more relaxed.
The pick me up playlist – I’ve written a whole post about this, but at it’s core it’s just listening to music that makes you feel good.
Talking about it – Being able to talk freely, to express what’s on your mind without holding back is important. It’s also helpful to have people who don’t attach themselves to your problems, people that ask questions instead of just giving answers.
Laughing – I remember an episode of my favourite show where one of the characters went to a laughing group. They’d meet up in the park and just laugh. I’m pretty sure there’s research that shows laughing has the same feel good impact with or without stimulus.
Best of all, these things are free.
Being able to help yourself doesn’t always require money being spent. Of course if the issue is that you’ve lost your job and don’t know know how you’ll pay rent box breaths might not be much use. However, these things will help with how you feel internally because they reduce feelings of overwhelm.
And it’s much easier to face a difficult problem when you’re calm than when you’re overwhelmed.
The Daily Gemm 