"Take a deep breath and count to ten, visualize a place where you feel happy and go into meditation" who Do you know how many times friends, family, and experts have suggested one of these techniques to keep your calm. However, when it comes to actually dealing with the moment when anger explodes, it is difficult to hit the mark, especially since none of the methods listed are capable of generating awareness.
In this Psychology-Online article we will explain some mental techniques to try keep calm in difficult times.
Index
- Breathe consciously
- Learn to listen to your body
- Practice exercise for the body and mind
- Download aggression with movement
- Rest
- focus on the present
- Disconnect from the outside world
- Change your perspective and think positive
- think of pleasant moments
- Learn to be grateful for what you have
- Surprise everyone with kindness
- cultivate your social life
- Be patient
- Exercise emotional detachment
- Learn to say what you think
Breathe consciously.
How to stay calm in the midst of chaos? Although it may seem strange, a great help against stress and anger is know how to breathe correctly. When you feel worry and negative thoughts taking over, take charge of the difficult situation and take a few minutes to breathe. We only need a few minutes a day to stand in a comfortable and relaxed position to breathe and listen to our breath.
To perform this technique, which is called "mindful breathing," first sit down and close your eyes, and then you can focus on your breathing. At this time, your mind should not go anywhere or think about anything other than the inhalation and exhalation, alternating every 20 seconds between one and the other. This is an exerciseessential to control anxiety and negativity.
If you are interested in knowing more about this, in the following article you will find Breathing exercises.
Learn to listen to your body.
Learning to focus attention on ourselves will be very useful for learning to listen to the signals from our body, such as tension or short breaths and intervene as soon as possible for improve reactions and increase self-control.
Practice exercise for the body and mind.
Sport helps relieve tension. In fact, physical activity is a great ally during stressful or anger-dominated situations. In turn, exercise it will help us to change the focus, get tired and relax and to increase the level of serotonin, which will improve our mood.
On the other hand, if running, swimming or dancing are not for you, you can consider disciplines that combine the exercises physical with mental ones, such as yoga, Tai Chi or moving meditation, which are both relaxing and energizing. In this way, you will be able to stay in shape and even in tune with your body.
Download aggression with movement.
On occasions when you cannot practice sports, a good alternative is to opt for make faces in the mirror, open your mouth to open your jaws, massage your temple and eyebrows, punch and kick the air to release negative energies or massage and hug you for some comfort. The body also needs your part to regain calm.
Rest.
No person can be in a situation of calm and serenity if they sacrifice the hours of sleep that your body needs, since sleep is essential for stay in control and increase your emotional intelligence. During sleep, the brain recharges and allows you to wake up ready to face the rest of the day. For this reason, if you don't get enough rest, not only your body will get tired, but also your attention and self-control.
In fact, sleep deprivation often increases stress hormone levels, creating an endless cycle whereby you will have more and more difficulty falling asleep and getting better sleep.
Focus on the present.
This aspect is important so as not to get carried away by dysfunctional thoughts about the past or the future, that is, about aspects that we cannot control. Stay in the here and now allows us to live in a state of active presence and non-judgmental to focus on what is really useful for us.
Disconnect from the outside world.
Being always focused on a goal is exhilarating, but it doesn't help to make stress an intermittent state of mind. In fact, being available to everyone and everything 24 hours a day, 7 days a week is counterproductive to lowering your anxiety level.
Therefore, at least during weekends and holidays, disconnect for a few hours social networks, mobile phone and personal or work email. Take care of yourself by doing something that you like and that does not follow any rules, such as singing, painting or playing sports, among others. These moments just for you will help you not to lose control of negative emotions in the following days and to remain calm when provoked.
Change your perspective and think positive.
Change the perspective from which you observe things to reorient thoughts and mind to a positive state. This does not mean seeing life in stars, hearts and pink butterflies, but rather changing perspective and controlling the noise that thoughts often produce. This will improve our quality of life.
To stay calm, stay focused and think positive, which is crucial for reducing negative emotions like stress and anger. In this way you will discover how positive thoughts can affect the state of both your body and your mind.
Think of pleasant moments.
If calm is about to leave you, change the scenery and make an effort to think of a situation that evokes pleasant thoughts and feelings in you. That romantic dinner with your partner, the funny talk with your baby, the jokes with your friends... Let positive emotions flood your thoughts and you will instantly gain some balance.
Learn to be grateful for what you have.
We are so used to always wanting more and continually complaining that we often lose focus on what we have, which is often enough.
Various studies have shown that people who work daily to cultivate an attitude of gratitude for what we have They present a noticeable improvement in their mood, energy and physical well-being. To achieve this, the first step is to appreciate the little things that surround us, such as a job that gives you the chance to live in peace, a good friend or some pleasant memory. They do not have to have been important events, but also small things that are part of everyday life.
Likewise, when thinking that you are about to explode has become a constant, sit down and take note of all the good things you have and can achieve, concentrating on the positive in your life and something that like.
Surprise everyone with kindness.
At times of conflict, when someone is being a bit over the top, you can mislead everyone with your kindness. If the usual smart-ass got the better of you while you were in line, bring out your softest tone of voice and use the fancy words to tell him how inappropriate and rude he was. The contrast between expected aggression and stylishly displayed kindness will short-circuit him in your favor.
Cultivate your social life.
Going out with loved ones or friends is helpful in reducing stress levels or the feeling of "being alone and not getting it," so don't isolate yourself. A healthy and active social life will increase the capacity for self-control, will reduce loneliness and boost self-esteem.
In general, to remain calm it is necessary to vent to someone. For this reason, it is advisable to speak to release your emotions and explain how you feel, as well as ask for help from those most They trust you when you need it. Only by comparing yourself and letting your guard down will you be able to reduce the level of stress, anxiety or anger that you feel. invades.
Be patient.
It is important to hurry up and give yourself time to learn to distinguish and put a certain distance between our interior and exterior. growing up means learn to listen and understand when we need time. Therefore, in the hectic everyday life, in which difficulties and problems often seem accumulate endlessly, it is essential to take a moment for oneself and put into practice these tips.
The result will not always be immediate and you may not be able to counteract the anxiety or anger with positive thoughts or staying focused on your breathing for the minutes necessary. However, the important thing is to give yourself time.
With the continuous stimuli we receive from abroad, we have unfortunately learned to take others into account more than our own. demands, with the inevitable consequence of being able to "explode" sooner or later, when we no longer know how to manage all the emotions.
Exercise emotional detachment.
It is not about showing indifference or losing interest, on the contrary, exercising emotional detachment means take a different look at the circumstances when emotions have calmed down and everything seems clearer, simpler, more obvious to you. During a fight, it's good to assume this kind of detachment right away, as any anger, jealousy, or resentment you feel in the moment doesn't work.
However, it will not be easy and you will have to give yourself time and space. In this way, if an argument is about to degenerate, leaving a room can be an effective method of restoring the appropriate calm.
Learn to say what you think.
There are many ways to express yourself, expose ideas and feelings. A person who hides in silence can be very irritating, just like someone who talks non-stop and without filters. The assertiveness it is, instead, a modality of communication that makes it possible to contain anger without necessarily repressing it, to affirm one's own rights without denying those of others and communicate our feelings without hurting to the other person.
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
If you want to read more articles similar to How to stay calm in difficult times, we recommend that you enter our category of meditation and relaxation.
Bibliography
- Ascione, G. (2020). How to keep calm: 8 infallible techniques. Recovered from: https://www.alfemminile.com/psicologia/come-mantenere-la-calma-s4009828.html
- Liberman, D. J. (2020). Come non perderare mai più calm. Milan: TEA.
- Zani, G. (2022). The stillness in the storm: 8 ways to keep calm. Recovered from: https://www.giuliazanipsicologa.com/2020/07/06/calma/
