Life can be rough. We all know that there are times that are rougher than others. We may be stressed, anxious, and have difficult emotions. What we may need to do is work on our wellness. But we also may feel guilty taking time for ourselves or practicing self-care when so much needs to be done elsewhere. STOP. It is vitally important for us to find ways to cope not only with the small day-to-day problems like grocery lines or slow traffic, but during those really difficult times in life. It is okay to think about ourselves. We can still do that while caring for and helping others. In fact, if we don’t take care of ourselves, we may be unable to help someone else.
Self-management is the use of many different skills or tools to manage behaviors, thoughts, and emotions. Some of these can be related to chronic health conditions and how to manage changes associated with them in order to carry out everyday activities. Other self-management skills can be used in other areas of life beyond chronic conditions. Some of these tools work better than others. It is important to try and see what works because everyone is different. This blog talks about relaxation techniques that use our mind to manage stress and negative emotions.
What does relaxation help?
Mindfulness means paying close attention to our thoughts and feelings in that moment. Life is so busy that so many people aren’t really present. We may seem like we are running on autopilot to do our job, chauffeur the kids to their activities, make dinner, and get put on repeat for the next day. We jump around from thought to thought. We are impatient. Being mindful encourages us to pay attention to our thoughts, actions, and how our body reacts to them at the time they are happening. We don’t judge these moments as happy, sad, good, bad or react negatively to them. We realize they are there by observing them. Being mindful can help us realize how our mind races back and forth to the past or the future or a worry without being in the moment. Being in the moment helps us slow down and calm down.
Mindfulness can be practiced anywhere, like waiting in a grocery store line. Focus on becoming more aware of what is going on in that moment. We may hear people moving past with their shopping carts, voices conversing negatively or positively, children crying, cash registers beeping. We may see shoppers smiling or frowning, clerks packing groceries, people putting money into the lottery machine. We accept things just as they are. No judgment. This can be useful for something like healthy eating, too. Focus attention on each bite of food thinking about the taste and texture and flavor. Stop when our body lets us know it is full. This is mindful eating.
Guided imagery is imagining positive imaginary scenarios like a daydream we control to put our self into amore relaxed state of mind. It’s thinking about an image that is peaceful and soothing and pleasant. Close our eyes and breathe in a few slow and deep breaths. In through the nose and out through the mouth. Use as much detail as possible and all of our senses. If a favorite place to be on vacation is a beach, then what comes to mind when thinking about being there? Feel the smooths and on our feet as we walk along the beach. Listen to the incoming waves and watch them roll over our feet, cooling them. Feel the warm sun on our back as we walk. Hear the sounds of children laughing as they look for shells or play with toys. Look up to the sky and notice the seagulls flying and squawking, and the pelicans diving for fish. Do we smell salty air? Are there ships in the distance? Focus on as much detail as possible. Use all of the senses. If something comes to mind that we don’t like or causes distress, then throw it out to sea. Redirect the mind. Instead, think about the taste of the cold Margarita that will be waiting once we get back to the hotel pool. The mind drifts and the body relaxes.
There are scripts for using this technique or make up one as was done above. Whether we are actually at the beach practicing mindfulness or using guided imagery to imagine we are at the beach, we are in the moment and hopefully relaxing. Enjoy being in the moment and smile. Vacations, either real or imagined, don’t last!
