Discover the Power of Your Nervous System
There’s a reason everyone is talking about breath work, meditation, yoga, reducing phone time, staying in the moment, etc. It’s all connected to our body’s nervous system. And this system is so important!
Your mind and body are not separate entities.
Anxiety and depression exist in your body, not just your mind. You know how someone can experience a panic attack and end up in the hospital thinking they’re having a heart attack, but they aren’t? That’s because anxiety manifests in your body. It doesn’t just exist in your mind. And when you work at changing the physical manifestations, you’ll actually reduce the mental manifestations.
Below are a bunch of ideas and ultimately, you’ll want to incorporate these tools into your overall lifestyle, which means you need to find something that resonates with you. But start out by experimenting, give things a chance, especially since you may not yet be comfortable relaxing. I know that sounds weird, but it’s true. Good luck, you got this!
ACTIVATE the Parasympathetic Nervous System
I recommend finding some you can do in a minute or two when you need to activate your body’s chill system and a longer one for developing a practice of activating your parasympathetic nervous system. No matter what, you need to do what works for you. There’s a lot out there. Experiment. Be curious. Get creative! Here are some ideas, starting with what I’ve used:
Shower Meditation
I made a “spa” music playlist that lasted 15 minutes, I lit candles, turned off the lights, poured some scented Epsom salts at the end of the shower (out of the water spray) and took a shower while repeating a mantra or two and stretching and feeling the water. It sounds weird, but it really worked. It engaged all of my senses and the mantras helped focus and relax my mind.
Bed Meditation
Ok, so this is just me listening to a guided meditation (I like Insight Timer - weird name for an app but I like it) while laying in bed. I do it in the morning to help get my mind set in a positive way, and at night before bed to turn off all my racing thoughts. I’ve also done it in the middle of the day if I’m having anxiousness.
Cold Water at end of my shower
I’m a big fan of a few minutes of cold water at the end of a shower. Cold water works on your nervous system, calming things down and that calmness carries forward through your day or evening.
5-4-3-2-1 Grounding Exercise
This one really resonated with me, probably because I easily detach from my body and get super in my head. You can do this anytime. Name 5 things you can SEE, 4 things you can TOUCH, 3 things you can HEAR, 2 things you can SMELL, 1 thing you can TASTE.
4x4 Box Breathing
I like this breathing exercise because it uses counting and there’s a definite end. I do four cycles: inhale for four, hold for four, exhale for four, hold for four.
Breathing exercises
Meditation
Grounding exercises
Nature
Yoga
Acupuncture
Certain relationships, hugging, etc.
DE-ACTIVATE the Sympathetic Nervous System
The sympathetic nervous system alerts you to danger – it increases your pulse rate, raises your heart rate, triggers perspiration, and releases the hormone cortisol, amongst other things. Coincidentally, all these symptoms are the same symptoms of anxiety. Many modern day habits, such as our smart phones, inadvertently trigger this system leading to feelings of anxiety. That’s one main reason psychologists are begging us to get off our smart phones.
Start paying attention to things that feel like they might be triggering your sympathetic nervous system and explore ways to change or adjust or reduce. This is all about balance. For example, I look for the sweet spot when it comes to watching tv - a certain amount is actually enjoyable, but over a certain amount and I can feel my anxiety rise. So you have to start paying attention to your body when you’re doing certain activities. Do what works for you. Here are some ideas to get you started:
Single-tasking
Sitting down to eat
Reduced phone time
Reduced news
Reduced social media/internet scrolling
Reduced tv time
Reduced caffeine