Three ways to lower your stress levels without meditating or medicating
Throughout our days and weeks we are often exposed to many small stressful events, and possibly some larger ones.
Each of these events creates a stress response in our bodies. Often our stressful events are so frequent that we don’t recover from them before the next stress exposure. As a result our stress levels build over the course of the day, the week, and the months.
Here are three strategies that are helpful to dampen down your stress levels without going to meditate, medicate, or reach for that drink or distraction (I’m not saying that there is anything wrong with doing these, in fact they are often very helpful)
Look at the horizon - ideally you do this by getting outside and staring off into the forested hills in the distance, but if you’re in a city office the concept still works. Staring off into the distance is a great way to change your mental state. When we go from looking down at our computers or phones to looking at an object in the distance, the muscles around our eyes and face relax to accommodate the new focal length (if it’s a sunny day you may need to wear some shades or use a hand visor). This automatic facial muscle relaxation helps us to drop some tension.
It’s also a helpful change in perspective. We get really wrapped up in the (small) problems that are right in front of us that sometimes they appear all that there is. Looking into the distance allows us to see a bigger picture and can change the perspective on the scope of our problems in the context of the world. I’ve got a couple of big trees on the ridgeline across the valley that I like to stare at. I’d guess they would be 100 years old at a minimum. They’ve been here since long before I was born and will probably be here for long after I’ve gone. Suddenly that email isn’t as frustrating.
Keep up a running commentary - This is mindfulness without sitting down with your eyes closed and your app out. Do a task that is completely non-related to the work that was stressing you out, that involves using your hands. As you do this, state the task you are doing, it’s better if you do it out loud but in your head is OK too. It forces you to pay attention to what it is you’re doing, and leaves little room for your mind to ruminate or wander off on unhelpful tangents.
One of my favourites is to commentate on making a cup of coffee with our espresso machine.
Pour beans into the grinder
Pick up the portafilter (the thing the coffee grinds goes into - I had to google what it was called)
Press the portafilter onto the grinder
Grind the beans
Tamp down the coffee grinds
Click the portafilter into the machine
Place the cup underneath
Turn on the switch to double shot
Turn off the switch
Take out the cup
Take out the portafilter
Empty the grinds
Wash the portafilter
I then do the milk - but you get the idea of it.
Do a brain purge
Sometimes my thoughts seem to be fizzing around in my brain like a Berocca thrown into a glass. They’re all over the show and often there is minimal control of where they end up going before they bounce and go somewhere else. When I’m in the middle of this, it has a negative impact on my emotional state. I feel more anxious and overwhelmed, and am less able to creatively solve problems. Times like these I need something to help reduce the fizziness.
A brain dump is usually a helpful strategy to slow or stop the fizziness. I grab a sheet of paper and start writing about what is going on for me. This act of writing for 5 or 10 minutes dumps all the ideas out of my head. As I write I start to make sense of all the thoughts and emotions I’m having. I can then figure out what I can just put aside, and what next steps I could take.
Some helpful questions that I use.
What am I thinking/feeling?
Where did that come from?
What did I make that mean?
What would be helpful for me to do next?
These three strategies help me to drop my stress levels and work through discomfort. Feel free to borrow them and adapt them to work for you. What is your favourite strategy to lower your stress?
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