6 ways to calm overwhelm

In our very busy modern lives, anxiety and depression are threats to living in balance and harmony with ourselves and others. There is the constant possibility of what can go wrong running on autopilot in the background or subconscious mind. It pops up looking for attention at the most awkward times. It blots out all conscious reasoning sending your blood pressure up leading to sweaty palms and maybe dizziness. So not pleasant.

When your body is in constant hyper alertness, you are creating too much cortisol and adrenalin. This, over time, can lead to weight gain and adrenal fatigue. You are not usually even in a threatening circumstance at the time. Remembering the events that caused the hyper alertness can cause your mind to believe it's happening again right now. This leads to post traumatic stress disorder.

You know your thoughts are running the experience in your body, but how do you press the 'off' button?

Tips to reset your body/mind for peace:

- Smile. Consciously tell your brain to smile too. This signals to your body that there is nothing to fear.

- Have a mantra that you can say: "I am safe. I am calm. I choose to be here" is an easy one to remember (from Grace Space Hypnosis https://gshypnosis.com)

- Place your hands over your heart. This brings a feeling of calmness to your compassion centre, clearing away the drama.

- Hold a mudra (finger posture). Place your thumbs on the inside tip of your pinky fingers, not touching the nail, with the three middle fingers outstretched. In Ayurveda, the thumb represents the fire element and the pinky finger represents the water element. You're balancing the fear (water element) with joy (fire element).

- Practice EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique). Tapping on acupoints has been shown to shift energy and metal states, bringing about a sense of calm and peace with long lasting effects.(https://www.thetappingsolutionapp.com)

- Place your awareness on you breath and watch it without trying to control it, simply allowing your body to be breathed. Initially you might want to bring your awareness to your nose and feel the cool air in, and the warm air out.

Wishing you peace in your head, joy in your heart, wellbeing in your whole body.