Seeking self, dropping anchor

Have you ever experienced a strong emotion (e.g. worry) & have a thought (or several!) pop into your mind that causes you to behave/react/respond in a way that in hindsight you thought to yourself ‘I wish I had done that differently! That behaviour wasn’t reflective of who I want to be as a person!’ ? One helpful & simple way to slow this process down & give yourself an opportunity to behave differently is to ask yourself - is the thought I’m having based in fact or fiction? Is there real evidence for this thought to be true? Or is it my emotions taking control & making me believe something not based in reality? This question can help us to pause & interrupt our auto-pilot responses. When our thoughts are driven by strong emotions (as apposed to clear thinking) they often veer away from what’s actually true & real, causing us to behave in anxious ways.

I taught a teenage client this morning the very simple practice of box breathing. I find this so helpful when I catch myself feeling the telltale signs of a dysregulated nervous system! It can be a simple way of adding a pause in before we continue on with whatever task we’re working through or before responding to someone in a reactive way. You can trace the box on your hand, doodle it on some paper or even find a window/door to follow with your eyes. It’s helpful to repeat it until you’re able to extend the breath for at least 5 seconds & you can observe your body starting to calm down. Question for you: Do you have helpful little strategies you can use in the day to day to manage stress in the moment?