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10 Simple Ways To Calm Yourself Down When You Are Feeling Overwhelmed
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Keep Calm Under Pressure
Are you feeling overwhelmed? Try these 10 simple ways to calm your sense and bring yourself back to the center.
1. Calm your sense by taking a moment to breathe deeply
Deep breathing brings oxygen into your lungs, energizing every cell in your body. In addition, deep breathing will calm your body by releasing stress and bringing balance to the nervous system, helping you gain perspective when feeling out of sorts.
Close your eyes while taking slow deep breaths through your nose for 4 seconds, hold for 2 seconds, out through the mouth for 8 seconds (4-2-8). Do this five times or when necessary throughout the day.
2. Shake it out
Exercising can ease stress and bring clarity to your mind. First, find somewhere you can stand comfortably without interruption, then tense all the muscles in your body for 3 seconds, and then relax them for 7: repeat 10 times or as necessary throughout the day.
3. Count to ten to calm your senses
Counting to ten can give you breathing room to calm sense before reacting poorly in a situation.
4. Fill your senses
Find something that makes you happy and stare at it, listen to it, smell it, taste it (if appropriate) and touch it.
Try this when feeling overwhelmed by something negative such as a phone call from an irate supervisor or other stressful situation.
As soon as you focus on what is meaningful to you, stress begins to ease its grip on mental clarity, leaving space for positivity and sometimes laughter!
5. Practice conscious eating
Mindfulness helps us distinguish between emotional hunger and physical hunger. First, consider what you are truly hungry for and whether it is food or something else (emotional).
6. Make time for quiet reflection
We all need to process daily events, chores, emotions, the list goes on. Try to remove yourself from the hustle and bustle of your day at least once a day by taking time to be quiet and calm.
Meditate, listen to music or reflect on what happened throughout your day. Meditation helps reduce stress significantly, which in turn increases productivity at work!
7. Learn how to say “No”
Consider saying “No” when you are feeling overwhelmed with too many things on your plate or if something feels out of balance in your life.
Saying “Yes” is part of living in a world where we constantly push ourselves to be efficient and productive. However, if you are overextending yourself, the quality of your work will suffer.
8. Laugh
Laughter releases endorphins – happiness hormones- that help us feel better and stay calm! Watch a funny video on YouTube, share a good joke with friends or family or read something humorous.
9. Practice Forgiveness
Holding onto anger can create enormous stress in our lives; forgiveness is liberating and healthy for our bodies and minds! When someone has wronged you, focus on what makes you glad you didn’t act from anger rather than how they hurt you.
Breathe deeply while writing down all the emotions that come up for you. Consider that they might have acted from a place of pain and lack of clarity, in which case it is better to forgive than harbor ill feelings.
10. Sleep is the best way to calm your senses
If you feel overwhelmed, one of the best ways to calm yourself is to get enough sleep!
Think about all the times you’ve had difficulty sleeping because your mind was racing with thoughts or when you needed an extra cup of coffee to be able to function in the morning.
Start tonight by setting a goal for 7-8 hours of sleep per night (for most adults) and commit yourself to sticking with it! Practice relaxation techniques (deep breathing, visualization, or whatever works for you) before bed to make this goal easier!
Final Thoughts
By practicing these simple strategies, you can calm your senses and reduce stress during the workday and take steps towards better mental health.
While stress is a part of everyday life in business and personal situations alike, reducing its negative impact on our lives will allow us to be more effective professionals and happier people.
Do you have any strategies that work for you? Comment below – I’d love to hear from you! If you liked this article, please share it. Thank You!
