On February 21st, we’re kicking off a 4-week workshop on Monday nights at 6-7 pm MST (online). We are going to be learning a practical, helpful, useful approach to mindfulness and grounding. My goal is to take the mystery out of this practice and show you ways that you can utilize these skills to actually improve your day-to-day experience.
This JUST happened to me this week so I have a fresh example to share in how grounding skills can shorten the "spin-out" time. Instead of spinning out in anxiety for two hours straight (typical), I reduced it to 30 minutes.
What happened?
I received some troubling news about an important personal matter.
I noticed that I was breathing faster and that my chest was pounding.
I noticed that my hands were slightly trembling and I became irritable and short-tempered with my children.
I heard myself making sounds of exasperation like sighing, grunting, groaning, etc.
AND THEN I DID SOMETHING DIFFERENT
I breathed...on purpose.
I got some fresh (cold) air outside.
I walked away from trying to problem-solve.
I spoke nicely to myself.
I played the tape forward and thought about what would happen if my worst fear came to fruition.
I reached out to a couple of friends via text who could understand the situation within a few words.
I let myself wonder about possibilities and resisted the urge to call those "good" or "bad."
I distracted myself with an activity that required my undivided attention in service of others, and which prevented me from using my phone/computer.
I verbally acknowledged the lack of control and an acceptance of the outcome.
and then I realized....
"THIS FEELS BAD. If this situation doesn't change, I deserve to be frustrated and angry. At this moment, I have done everything within my power to change this situation. Now it's out of my hands, and the more I think about it, I realize that while this is hard news and I feel tired, this is not a life or death problem. I'm okay and my family is okay. I'm going to be okay."
The thing about stress is....it hits at the absolute worst time without any warning. I didn't wake up that morning prepared to untangle a giant mess. One of the biggest barriers to utilizing mindfulness skills is practicing them enough so that we can draw on them quickly without thinking about how, what do I need to remember, what order does it go in, and on and on and on. It's a mindfulness PRACTICE.
Come along with me for this Winter Workshop and let's take one step at a time towards getting better.
-Nancy