At times everyone feels that “life is an uphill struggle”. Difficult experiences, stressful situations or unrelieved tension generate emotional chaos which makes it difficult to function. We cannot avoid emotions, so it is worth knowing how to deal with them and prepare a “safety valve” for weaker moments. Here are some simple, yet unusual, ways to calm down your mind.
1. Sleep
Our body is actually a self-sufficient machine that has the resources to cope even in extreme circumstances. Overwhelming stress, tension, deep sadness, regret, exhaustion or irritation are dealt with by specific mechanisms in our body. Thus in most cases, we return to normal selves after a certain amount of time. One way our body resolves difficult emotions is through sleep, which literally cuts us off from chaotic and depressing thoughts. While sleeping, our brain can regenerate and gain strength to find solutions to our problems. If you feel tired and exhausted by the constant racing of thoughts, go to sleep. This will help you achieve peace of mind.
2. Weighted blanket
Unfortunately, our sleep suffers from the vicious cycle that increased or permanent stress brings. We are tired, stressed about our responsibilities or what awaits us the next day, and suffer from insomnia as a result. When we do fall asleep, we often find it difficult to wake up in the morning. Constant fatigue causes mounting tension and increased frustration. One solution is to use a weighted blanket, which is a specialized and tested adjunct in the treatment of sleep disorders. The sensory blanket acts on our skin receptors, stimulating the body to respond almost identically to when we are hugged. Then the wrapped body stops producing cortisol and relaxes. We can use a weighted blanket while sleeping or cover ourselves with it while working at the desk.
3. A whirl of house chores
If you find it difficult to vent negative emotions, it seems that hard work will help. It has a psychological basis, i.e. focusing on something other than the current worries accelerates the process of calming down and mental stabilization. Activities such as ironing, cleaning windows, organizing wardrobes and doing the laundry also require physical and logistical work from us. This is stimulating and exhausting for the brain, and it is better to use that brain energy to clean the house rather than to worry. Also, the effect of a clean home can improve our mood and give us peace and order in our minds.
4. Jigsaw puzzle
You may be surprised how many benefits a jigsaw puzzle can bring! Composing a puzzle can be compared to meditation because by focusing on one task, we calm down our body without little effort. This causes our mind to push away all other information that normally occupies our head. As a result, we rest and dissociate, which is essential in caring for the balance of our psyche. Furthermore, when arranging the puzzle, both hemispheres of the brain – right and left – work simultaneously, and thus activate the areas responsible for logical thinking and creativity. In this way, we train the mind, which may be able to cope with bothersome problems more rapidly.
