EASY QUICK CHILL SECRET

EASY QUICK CHILL SECRET

WHEN EVERYTHING IS GOING WRONG AND

YOU CAN’T THINK STRAIGHT

Maybe your emotions take over, causing you to freeze. Other times, you feel frustrated, angry, ready to throw something.   You know you need to be cool, but that seems totally impossible. How can you respond calmly?

There are actually things you can do to get through those times without going nuts?

The quickest, simplest, most effective thing you can do (but usually the hardest to think of in the moment) is to Take 2-3 long, deep breaths slowly in and slowly out. Breathe into your abdomen making it expand on the inhale and recede back toward your spine on the exhale.

Practise doing that now. Breathe: Inhale deeply and slowly, causing your abdomen to grow like a balloon. Then slowly exhale, slowly, slowly, making that breath last as long as you can. Repeat two more times.

How does that feel? . . . Nice, huh?

You might wonder, “How can this help?”

1. Deep breathing is always a signal for the body to slow down, and for    your muscles to relax.

1. Immediately, your brain will get an increased flow of oxygen, which will greatly improve its reasoning power.
2. In crisis situations, taking long deep breaths dramatically slows down and supports effective thought processes.
3. Sometimes doing this for a longer period of time is all that is needed.
4. The best part is that deep breaths can be used anywhere and any time you feel yourself losing your peace.

Practice this type of breathing until you feel comfortable with it. Then start using it each time you’re feeling tense, angry, or out of sorts.

When I was working as a psychiatric nurse at The Menninger Clinic, I gave a tiny 1/8” brightly colored sticky dot to each new client during their orientation. I told them to put it on their notebook, bathroom mirror, telephone, or anywhere they would see it throughout the day. Then, every time they saw it they were to pause, and take three long, deep breaths. This greatly helps release any built-up subconscious (or conscious) tensions.