7 Ways to Calm Your Mind

We’re living in a chaotic, highly emotional time.

Heart centered women tend to feel emotions deeply, not just our own but also the emotions of everyone around us and the larger society, which can feel overwhelming.

When dealing with fear/anxiety, it helps to understand how our brains work.

The human brain developed in conditions very different from today’s society. In our long-ago ancestors’ world, threats were immediate, and it was important to act quickly in order to survive.

So we have a lot of brain real estate devoted to scanning the environment for threats and responding quickly by fighting, fleeing, or freezing.

With the onslaught of information in the current pandemic, our brains can easily be overwhelmed and flood our bodies with stress hormones such as adrenaline.

Stress chemicals are hard on our immune systems and make it difficult to think clearly, which we need to be able to do now.

Here are seven suggestions for calming your brain:

1) Limit your exposure to news. Find a way to be informed without being overwhelmed. Reading is gentler on the brain than watching TV news. Online newspapers currently are offering free coverage.

2) Give your brain positive inputs. Calming and uplifting music, prayer, inspirational reading, connecting with positive friends/family, funny movies, uplifting social media and podcasts – all are helpful for calming our brains.

3) Nature. Listen to the birds singing, notice how calm and grounded the trees are, snuggle with your pets.

4) Optimism. You will get through this, as you have gotten through other hard times in your life. Consider writing a vision for your life and the world five years from now.

5) Focus on what you can control. In a time when much is beyond our control, it helps to exercise the control we do have. What small goals can you set and accomplish, such as working out, connecting with loved ones every day, taking an online class, writing in your journal?

6) Gratitude. One of the best ways to calm our brains is to list everything we are grateful for, such as: I’m alive, I have a place to live, food to eat, clothes to wear, friends, family, sunshine, internet, etc.

7) One moment, one day at a time. The more we shift our brains from worrying about the future to focusing on the present, the calmer we’ll be.

Calming our brains helps us think clearly, make good decisions, support our immune systems, and be able to help our families and communities.

Please take good care of your precious heart centered self. Our world needs you!

Hugs,

Liz

P.S. My friend Anna who studies integrative health reminded me that cold water can be helpful for the immune system. If you’re interested, there are lots of articles online.