Sometimes it may seem that literally everyone around you is suffering from anxiety. In the modern world of digital technology, it is becoming increasingly difficult for us to focus on truly important things, and we often push them in the background.
Psychologist Deborah Davis offers 9 effective steps to calm the mind, get rid of anxiety and refocus attention.
1. Sit comfortably
If you feel that your mind fills up with disturbing thoughts, sit back in your favorite armchair or find some another quiet place, away from people. Take a position in which you feel at ease.
2. Close your eyes
Once you feel comfortable, close your eyes and try to relax. At first this may be difficult if you don’t have much experience quieting your mind and body; you need to give your body time to “synchronize” with your brain. By closing your eyes, you are literally disconnecting from the outside world, which greatly facilitates your ability to focus on yourself.
3. Feel your body
As you are lying down or sitting with your eyes closed, you will be able to feel your body move with each breath. In order to relax even more and detach from the outside world, pay full attention to what sensations you can feel in your body.
This exercise not only helps you to redirect anxious energy, but also to adjust your body to a sense of well-being.
4. Focus on your breathing
When you start paying attention to the frequency of breathing, you may begin to breathe even faster. Therefore, it is important to remember that you have to consciously slow down your breath.
At first breathe deeply, without forcing yourself to slow down until your body becomes ready for it. By relaxing and closing your eyes, you enter yourself, and this state gives you the opportunity to focus on breathing, quickly taking control of it.
5. Listen to your breath
The human body is an amazing construction. It is very important not only to monitor how we breathe, but also what sounds we make during breathing.
Listen to the sound of the air coming into your lungs and leaving them., and to the sound of the air returning to the world around you.
It is not necessary to change the rhythm of your breathing; this will happen automatically when you turn your attention to what is extremely important at this moment – to reduce anxiety.
6. Give freedom to your thoughts
Now that you have so many things to do and focus on, you will begin to notice how your mind is distracted by other things. Maybe now you start thinking of solving a problem that has been worrying you for a while. Free your mind from these worries. Perhaps open communication with your brain will bring you the desired solution.
7. Redirect your thoughts
After a few minutes, focus on your breathing again. This will reduce your stress level, help your mind calm down, and makes it possible for you to spend the rest of your day in a much calmer state.
8. Be patient
Sometimes relaxing and focusing on your breathing can be a daunting task. However, if you are serious about relieving your life of stress, keep trying. One way or another, practice always leads to excellence.
9. Think calmly
First, the mind believes in what it can imagine. Therefore, if your thoughts are calm, peace will reign in your brain.
Don’t waste your time worrying about things that can’t be changed. Focus on what can make you feel better, and work on redirecting your thoughts every day.