Do you ever feel yourself getting wound up and out of control, unable to stop the feeling? For me, I start to grit my teeth, my breathing gets faster, my hands ball into fists, and I have trouble concentrating.
In this state, life feels overwhelming and effort seems pointless.
But I have learned 5 quick ways to calm myself down.
These probably won’t turn your life around in a matter of minutes, but they can bring you back to a sense of regulation and peace. Think of them as small interventions- ways to turn the tide when your mind starts to spiral.
5 Ways to Quickly Calm Down
1. Get Reacquainted With Your Breath
Start to slow yourself down by breathing slowly and deeply through your nose. Feel the air as it goes in. Sit with it. Let the gentle rhythm of your expanding and contracting lungs become your new inner rhythm, not your racing thoughts.
Do this for one minute.
2. Look at Art
If you have a coffee table art book beside you, that’s great. You can open it to a random page and start looking. Don’t try to read any of the words, just look at the pictures. Browse until you find one that catches your attention and linger on it.
There is nothing for you to do besides look.
If you don’t have an art book, that’s fine. You can use Google to find artworks. Below are a few keywords you can try. Choose one (or a combination) and see what you find. When an artwork grabs your attention for any reason, let your mind linger on it.
Watercolor – Food – Portrait – Impressionism – Renaissance – Minimalism – Abstract – Georgia O’Keeffe – Tapestry – Photography – Fresco – Warhol – Pointillism – Landscape
3. Touch Something
Find something interesting to touch. It can be soft, hard, squishy, fluid- anything with a noticeable texture. Give yourself about 20 seconds to find the most interesting thing to touch, then put your hands on it and keep them there for the rest of the minute.
Your only job is to feel the texture beneath your hands.
(Tip: make sure it is safe- nothing sharp, nothing too hot or cold, etc.)
4. Look For Colours
Look around the space you’re in and identify what colours you see. Which one appears most often?
When you figure out the most common colour, ask yourself what it reminds you of. Is it nature? The ocean? Sand? Let your mind drift to that image and sit with it for the rest of the minute.
5. Remember a Time You Felt Capable
When did you feel most proud of yourself? Think about that moment and dwell on the feeling.
What did you feel in that moment emotionally and physically?
Were you relieved or excited?
Were you alone or surrounded by others? Was it morning, afternoon, or evening? What clothes were you wearing?
Spend a minute thinking of all these details.
Peace is Possible
You don’t need to fix your whole life in a moment of overwhelm. You just need to remind your nervous system that you are safe, then it can take over regulation so you can go back to focusing on other things.
In these tough moments, don’t let your mind convince you that you are failing just because you are struggling. You are doing really well. Sometimes we just have to remind ourselves of this.
Messy Bun Book Lover