Increase your ability to handle stress and strong emotions with these quick tips.
 
3️⃣ Live in the present
✔️ Your mind has an incredible ability to mentally travel through time and reflect on the past and project into the future. Sometimes negative thoughts, like regret about the past or anxiety about the future, can cause incredible stress even when things around you are fine
✔️ Help yourself deal with what’s directly in front of you with these steps

1. Ask yourself, “where am I right now?”
2. If there is no immediate danger, realize you don’t have to feel stressed
3. Take a step back from your thoughts and recognize you are “time-traveling”
4. Take a few deep breaths and bring your focus to the present
5. Label your feelings and do some PMR (see previous post – Part 1)

*Meditation can help too!
 
4️⃣ Healthy distraction
✔️ When stress and emotions are too strong to handle with other methods, distraction can be a helpful temporary measure
✔️ Distinguish between healthy distraction and unhealthy avoidance. Recognize that avoidance isn’t buying you time; it’s staying away from whatever has stressed you out
✔️ Do something useful or pleasurable until your emotions move out of the red zone, and return to the issue when you’ve calmed down
✔️ Make a note of what kind of healthy distractions work for you, so you have a go-to plan when calming down and clearing the mind seems too difficult
 
Learning to navigate the space between emotional triggers and your response can empower you to create a life that is more fulfilling and consistent with your values. Keep an open mind, and find what works best for you!
 
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