'My Day has Gone Wrong!' A pulling your hair out Relaxation Technique.

The way our day goes and the way we feel when we go to bed at night is all dependent on how we deal with the feelings and situations that crop up during the course of the day.  Therefore, if you can develop a technique that can quickly disperse feelings of discontentment or stress, then you are in a position of power in life.

If you are finding the day is taking a wrong turn and you feel yourself wishing it hadn't started then a quick relaxation technique may be all you need to get things back on track.  

Here is a technique that I often use:

1.  Take yourself out of the situation (even if that means disappearing to the loo at work) and find somewhere to be alone.  Getting out of the situation that is causing you stress is  the best first course of action.  You may need to return to that stressful place or person, but a little time away from it to gain perspective is great.  This may mean hiding in a cupboard from your five year old!

2.  Take a deep breath in through your nose and out through your mouth.

3. Breathe again.  Make sure you don't hold your breath (we do this when we are upset) and keep it regular.  This is already going to give you more control.

3.  Let's stop these thoughts racing.  Now you are out of the situation you should be able to muster a bit of perspective.  The stressful situation is out of sight, the breathing is calming and suddenly things should seem a little more easy to handle.

4.  Count your breathing. Close your eyes and breathe in for the count of two and out for the count of four.  In for two and out for four.  Keep repeating this while you feel yourself getting more in control.

5. Gain some Perspective.  At this point remind yourself that this situation will not be important next week and that it is not necessary to let it get out of perspective.  Spend a little time focusing on the things that you have to be grateful for and think about how bad some people in the world have it (my problem is usually rather small at this point.)

4.  Forgiveness.  Allow yourself to give the other person or situation the benefit of the doubt and make a mental note to not allow this anger or upset to ruin your day, the day still holds potential for great things.  Forgiving a person or situation is not saying what they did was right, it is basically releasing yourself from this negative experience.

5. BREATHE!!!  Let it all go.

6.  Keep it going.  Continue with this breathing technique until you have to return to the normal world. Just 5-10 minutes should do it.

Stress is the most damaging contributor to ill health in the modern world.  If we can find simple techniques to dispel it then we can usually go back to our day without letting it affect us too negatively.  When we hold on to anger, frustration, resentment and fear then it follows us around for days after a situation occurs.  If you can find a simple technique like this that can help you to release it then you will be a much healthier person.

Of course sometimes it will feel impossible to release something so quickly.  A traffic jam or parking ticket is likely to be easy to disperse with a change of perspective.  However an ongoing family trauma or bullying at work is obviously going to need more focused time.  However, a similar technique repeated every day will still go some way to making the situation easier to manage.

Don't forget to breathe!

Josie :) Was this useful?  Like My facebook page... :)