3 things I do when the world feels scary
Hello love,
Goodness there's a lot going on in the world isn't there? I'm not going to rehash it all because we will all have different foci for what's vying for our attention at the moment.
Instead, here are the three things that I do when it all seems too much.
Put my phone down.
It's far too easy to doomscroll through video upon video of horrors. You'll be watching a cat video one minute and then witnessing the brutality of the human race the next.
Our brains aren't designed to receive this much information and they certainly aren't designed to witness atrocities and then carry on as though nothing has happened.
The only thing that I find that has the immediate soothing effect is to just put the phone down. It gives the mind a break, allows you to take a breath and decide what you're going to do. The power of pausing is well documented and acts as a little reset to the mind and nervous system, allowing you to come out of the automatic brain and into the deeper thinking brain.
By stopping the noise, you gift yourself a pause. Something that you won't get unless you create it.
Coming back to the breath
I feel like all yoga guides will tell you to come back to your breath, but it's a cliche because it works.
When it all feels a bit too much, extending your exhales is the simplest thing you can do to bring your nervous system back into balance. Remember; a healthy nervous system ebbs and flows from heightened when there's a threat to relaxed when the threat has passed.
If the only thing you take away from this is to lengthen your exhale when you're feeling the world very deeply, it will be the most supportive thing you’ll do for yourself.
Spot the good stuff
You know when you say you haven't seen a yellow car and then see five in a row? That's exactly the same as what were creating here.
When you consciously spot the good stuff, your brain unconsciously looks for more of it. I love finding the magic in the mundane, the way a blossom moves in the wind or the way the sparrows flit in and out of our hedge. It allows the mind to retrain itself to expect to see good in the world, creating a little reprieve in the current climate.
No, spotting the good stuff doesn't take away from the absolute horrors that are happening, but it does give your mind a rest.
Do you have any favourite techniques that get you back into your body when the world feels like it's gone to shit? I'd love to hear them.
With love,
Beth x
P.S: if the state of the world is causing your mental health to suffer, please please seek support. You cannot be the change you wish to see if your mental health is suffering.