On the Spot Stress Reduction

With Thanksgiving next week and other holidays that often involve spending time with the family fast-approaching, I wanted to present a few stress reduction techniques that can be used “on the spot” when emotions may begin to run high.

This holiday season may be especially stressful for many, given that it’s on the heels of a very contentious election, so being confined in close spaces with people who you might not get along with that great under even normal circumstances could be even worse than in other years.

While general stress management techniques such as exercise, meditation, etc. are great and highly recommended for overall reduction in stress, things can often be triggered in the moment and it’s helpful to have a few tools at your disposal to stay calm and not try to beat Uncle Ralph senseless with a can of cranberry sauce.

The first method is what some call the “physiological sigh.” Basically, it uses a trick of physiology to immediately trigger the brain to lower blood pressure and slow the heart rate, leading to a sense of calm and relaxation. I won’t go into the anatomy and physiology of it all, but the bottom line is that when you take longer exhales than inhales, it has a calming effect. Perhaps you’ve had the experience of intense crying and at some point unconsciously making a slow, deep exhale and then feeling more relaxed. That’s what the physiological sigh does.

While you can simply focus on doing longer exhales than inhales, the best result tends to come from doing a double inhale followed by a long exhale. The first inhale is a mostly full inhale done quickly to fill the majority of the lungs. There is a pause of a second or so and then a second short, forceful inhale is done to tops off the lung capacity. Then you do a nice slow, controlled exhale. Repeat the process two or three times whenever you need to de-escalate your stress. If you’re a little bit subtle about it, you can probably even do this technique without leaving the stressful situation.

Another helpful technique is “releasing,” which is part of The Sedona Method. For this, I would recommend excusing yourself to somewhere private for a few minutes. With releasing, you identify the situation that is making you stressed and then ask yourself three questions about it: “Could I let this go?”, “Would I let this go (if I chose to)?”, and “When?”. Answer the questions honestly for where you are in that moment. Then just continue asking them until you get to, “Yes.”, “Yes.” and “Now.” You may not always get to that, and that’s fine. Just the process of repeatedly going through the questions can significantly reduce stress and negative emotions, although the biggest releases tend to come when you reach, “Yes.”, “Yes.” and “Now.”

Finally, there’s a technique that requires a little advanced preparation, but is great for situational stress-control once you have it set up. It’s known as “anchoring” and it uses some relatively unique physical or other sensory cue to trigger an emotional state.

Probably the easiest way to explain anchoring is by example. For instance, imagine an extremely relaxing scene in your mind. Maybe it’s a favorite vacation spot like the beach or the mountains. Whatever it is, try to fully immerse yourself in that experience. See what you’d see, hear what you’d here, feel what you’d feel and be there in your mind. Try to be integrated into the experience, as if you’re actually there as opposed to seeing it as an outside observer. When you really feel the relaxation, calm, and/or other good feelings of the experience, do some kind of physical cue to attach to it. Maybe it’s tapping your wrist with your fingers, squeezing your earlobe, or pinching a spot on your leg – just be sure to remember the specifics of that cue so that you can reproduce it. Use the cue a few times while enjoying that experience in your mind.

Physical cues usually are easiest to use, but you can also use other sensory cues if you prefer – perhaps looking at a piece of jewelry or mentally singing a verse of a song. Just try to make the cue (anchor) something that’s relatively distinct and not something you’re likely to encounter frequently in your day to day life.

Next, come up with another imagined experience that produces similar positive feelings and when you’re in it fully, once again use the same cue to associate it with. Repeat the process as many times as you can, activating your cue each time you are fully in the pleasant experience in your mind. Once you’ve done this several times and added several layers to your cue (anchor), you should be able to trigger those good feelings again simply by activating the cue, without having to focus on imagining a good experience. So, when you find yourself in a stressful situation, you can simply stimulate whatever anchor you’ve set up and feel better without really trying.

Hopefully one or more of these methods will help you get through the holidays and anytime you have to deal with stressful situations.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Until next time…

George F. Best, D.C.