Calming the Stressed/Anxious Mind

My anxiety sprung up a bit yesterday night, and last morning. Worrying about how to deal with HR related stuff for my leave of absence, having to make phone calls that I normally don’t like to take. Phone calls are stressful for me. I had to deal with more phone calls these past two weeks, than I had all this year. It can be overwhelming, but for the most part, the exposure has made it easier to deal with phone calls. I normally do my best to ignore phone calls, but have been answering all of them lately with little hesitation, so there is a positive. Anyway, back to the anxiety.

Anxiety is our minds way of preparing for the worst case scenario. It is for our survival. It doesn’t recognize that our everyday fears are mostly non-threatening, but our minds see it that way. The logical part of our brain recognizes that, but the amygdala, and limbic part of our brains overwhelms that part.

There were three things that helped calm my mind. One was, taking a step back, and just letting things be. I realize things our a little overwhelming right now, but worrying isn’t going to solve anything, and it is just going to ruin the rest of my day. I want to enjoy the moment as much as possible. I tell myself, things will come together. You will not die. It isn’t the end of the world. I will figure things out. Just let it be. My worries seem to dissipate, and weaken when I think this.

Another thing I did was meditate. I did this last night, after feeling nervous about making the phone call. This helped calm my mind and body down. The thoughts kept coming in, but I kept letting them in, and letting go. Eventually, things calm down, and then clarity comes along. The amygdala was no longer ruling my mind. The logic and reasoning part overruled it. I realized that it won’t be as bad as I think it will be, and that I will get through it, like the many other phone calls I got through. I was able to sleep peacefully with no worries. I did make the phone call right when I got up, because even though I was calmer. It is best for me to get things done and over with.

In the morning, I became a bit stressed again from all the things I needed to get done from that phone call. I decided again that stressing wouldn’t help, so decided to do something good for my body and mind. I decided to do some yoga. This gives me a chance to put my focus on my body and my breaths, by doing that, it keeps my mind away from all those negative thoughts. Once I was done, I was able to find calmness and clarity. I was able to be aware that everything will be fine, and that now that my mind is clear. I can figure out what I need to get done, and that is what I did. I also felt refreshed from getting a nice and relaxing workout.

I did not want anxiety and stress to define my day. I wanted to make use of my day in the most productive way. Worrying doesn’t help. It gets nothing solved or done. I found some ways to help calm my mind from those stressors. Maybe they can be helpful for you, or maybe there are some others way that help you. Either way it is best to find calm and peace as much as you can possibly can.