Daily Mindfulness Check-In May 15, 2020

@amiablePeace77

What coping skills should everyone know in your opinion to deal with stress, what is your favorite?

In my opinion is :

1- To train patience so that stress doesn't make you explode.

2- CHALLENGE YOURSELF

Part of the process of building that resilience is knowing that you have experienced adverse situations before and bravely faced them. Don't give up before you even take on a project just because it looks difficult. The success achieved in a challenging way is also more encouraging.

3- HAVE RESERVATION PLANS

Emergencies are, to some extent, predictable. Try to identify the flaws in your plan, be it for life or a simple work project. Think about how to cover these holes in your planning. It is critical that you are able to predict everything that can go wrong. That way you will be better prepared to deal with failures along the way, as you will not feel unsuspecting.

4- TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF

It may seem unnecessary, but taking care of yourself is a fundamental part of the plan to become more resilient. If you don't sleep well, eat poorly, feel weak and leave your health behind you will probably have a much harder time moving on when something goes wrong. Everything is easier to manage if you are healthy.

5- ESTABLISH CONNECTIONS

Strong social ties are responsible for boosting happiness and creating an emotional account that you can count on in unexpected situations. Invest in that kind of connection by spending time with your family, with your friends and even with your neighbors. They will be there to help you when something doesn't go as expected.

6- LIST THE THINGS ABLE TO ENCOURAGE YOU

If you know your mood well, you probably know what are the things that can cheer you up in a difficult time. Having a list of all these things at hand will let you know where to go when you are feeling unmotivated. Think of all the things you like best, like a movie, food or even company. This is useful if something goes outside the initial plan.

7- DON'T COUNT ON EASY SITUATIONS

If you are waiting for everything to work out all the time you are much more likely to be disappointed. This does not mean being pessimistic and believing that nothing has a chance to work, but you must be aware that things do not always go as expected. If you know how to accept adversities and, more than that, predict them, you can deal with them better.

My favorite is to take care of myself.

@amiablePeace77

1. 10 Deep Breaths

I absolutely love this one. Whenever I get overwhelmed by negative thoughts or emotions, it always helps me to slow down and take ten deep breaths. I realize that I do not need to rush anywhere, that I am not in any immediate danger, and that it is better for me to focus on my values rather than run from a threat.

2. Mindful Yoga

What really helps me is challenging mindful yoga. Not merely stretching, but pushing myself beyond what I thought I could do rejuvenates and grounds me.

3. Defusion Techniques

I learned about defusion from The Happiness Trap. It is an Acceptance and Commitment Therapy technique that teaches you how to manage your thoughts and emotions better. The goal is to accept and let go of all your thoughts and emotions. There are various ways to do that but what helps me is to either say "I have a thought that..." or sing the thought to the tune of my favorite songs. It reminds me that thoughts are merely words and do not have power over me unless I give it to them.

Something really valuable I learned was this: Catharsis is a multi-step process.

A lot of the time, when we feel stressed, we feel other emotions with it like frustration, anger, exasperation. Aside from getting good nutrition and sleep, it's also a great idea to let out the pent-up agression we have. However, I learned that although punching a wall, binge eating, etc. may feel like we're doing something, we're actually just furthering our lack of an outlet, because these things only have 1 step. Punching a wall is just punching a wall. What are the results? Our hand hurts? We feel more angry? We put a hole in the wall? Same with binge eating-- what are the steps and the results? We eat to feel better without regard to what we're eating, and we feel worse later because we're not getting proper nutrition.

Catharsis is only a release when there is more than one step to the process.

Therefore, instead of binge eating, COOK! You'll satisfy the need to find an outlet in food, but it will be much healthier and more fufilling in the end. Chop the ingredients, heat the pan, cook the food, serve. Multiple steps allow your brain to break down the process you're giving your attention to (cooking) while it runs your subconscious on idle to solve the problem you aren't giving your attention to (your stress). You'll find that you have a positive result in the immediate (a home cooked meal) and a positive result in the long-term (you'll have calmed down and worked out your stress!)

That was a super great lesson for me to learn, and it's really helped me be a better problem-solver on my own.

@amiablePeace77 My favorites are mindful breathing, learning to say no, and listening to music.

I'd say for me, Going outside. Being in nature is powerful and a great healer.

Doing mindfulness and grounding, writing and being around people that love and care for you.

I'm just starting to meditate and I love it

Did anyone mention Gratitude Journaling? It helps me.

Also, being able to separate yourself from the emotions your stress is making you feel and then being able to watch them like watching a movie playing in front of you in a theater as you sit back and observe, can be powerful. It helps you take away the lessons and let go of the stress.