Dealing with Anxiety During a Busy Day
A lot of people say they simply don’t have time to slow down or deal with overwhelming thoughts throughout the day. There is just too much to do - too many calls to make, work problems to troubleshoot, lists of personal tasks, kids to take care of. The day ends up feeling like a spiral that started from the “what if” thoughts or words in your head and ended in you making dinner, barely paying attention to what it is that you’re even cooking (or ordering), feeling lifeless, exhausted and ready to collapse on the couch.
Are you one of those people where you’re anxious all day long but just sort of keep going through the motions, letting your thoughts take you on endless journeys into worst case scenarios or worry about situations that haven’t even happened yet? If you are, I want you to begin to work in 5-10 minutes in your day to free yourself from distraction by being mindful of what you are feeling and thinking.
Anxiety is our brain and body’s response to threats; we need to stop and breathe long enough for our body to slow down and and make a change. The more often you do this, the less “wired” you’ll feel throughout the day.
Try this today to feel better quickly:
- STOP - find a quiet place, and go be alone with yourself. Shut off your phone and leave any physical objects out of the space. (Hint - this CAN be your office!)
- Sit quietly for 5 minutes; consciously relaxing different muscle groups - even try closing your eyes.
- When you have a thought or a feeling you don’t like, imagine you are standing on a bridge watching each thought or feeling travel by on a train car below you. You’re watching the train ride by, but you’re not going towards it or jumping inside of it. Bring your attention back to your breathing and your body.
Feel free to grab your stuff and go attack the world again when you’re done :)