When you experience immense stress, your hormones kick in and it is easy to become overwhelmed by your emotions. By reducing stress during such times, in the moment so to speak, that allows you to deal effectively with situations or people in healthy ways. You need to be calm to do that. You must learn how to stay centered and in control of yourself, so that you will not become overwhelmed when a demanding, nerve-racking situations arise.
Talking with a caring listener in a tranquil environment can help you quickly calm down and release tension. However, in the heat of the moment, it can be difficult to excuse yourself to talk to your best friend. Same with taking a long walk or meditation exercises to reduce stress. When you are overly angry, keyed up, or impatient to respond without pausing to consider the consequences, you need something immediate to get your emotions in check.
What’s in your sensory rescue toolbox?
One of the fastest ways to relieve stress is to use your senses as a rescue tool – sight, smell, touch, touch, sound. You can also use movement.
How do you do that? Think of it this way. When you are in the midst of a conversation and get distracted by the brightness of the sun, making it hard to see around you, you close the blinds, maybe change your position, or in some instances you may put on sunglasses. When you are more comfortable you easily resume normal conversation. Likewise, when the music or an action scene on Netflix is too loud you normally find it easy to adjust the volume and the show goes on with little interruption.
When you feel your hormones kick in and your blood pressure rising, think of using your sensory toolbox in much the same way.
Could it be that a particular piece of art, a photo of a beach or a spider plant on your desk soothes you? Maybe it’s wiggling your toes, a whiff of your favorite cologne, the taste of a piece of chocolate, or the feel of the pulse on your wrist that brings down your adrenaline and stress hormones.
Explore Sensory Experiences
You may have to explore a variety of sensory experiences to identify which works best for you as a rescue tool. Be as precise as possible in identifying what works best.
View our list of 31 sensory actions for inspiration. Let your imagination run free. Experiment with different sensory techniques. Possibly the intensity of the sensation or repeating it twice does the trick. When you find the right sensory technique, you will know it. You will feel a sense of assuredness knowing you will always have that rescue tool to relieve stress on the spot.
31 Rescue Tools
1. You can handle a pebble, sea shell or reminiscent object to feel its weight or texture and bring good memories to the forefront.
2. Tactile fidgets are not just a passing fad. Fidgets keep the hands occupied in repetitive motor movements that can involve spinning, squeezing, pushing, pulling, clicking (you get the point!). The repetition of these small movements has a calming effect.
3. Keep a ball of cotton, twist tie, feather, small comb, piece of Velcro, or soft rubber eraser in your pocket so you will have something handy to feel or manipulate with your fingers when you feel stressed.
4. Keep a beanbag handy for tossing in the air, into a basket, or simple tossing from one hand to the other. Maybe keep three beanbags handy because you can juggle.
5.Chewing, sucking, and blowing are all motor movements that, when used as your ease in conjunction with other sensory activities, can play a key role in calming your emotions. While blowing soap bubbles may not be feasible, consider silent whistling. You could use a straw in your to-go cup. The act of reaching for it and sucking in water might do the trick. Play with the saliva in your mouth or chew on something crunchy or chewy. Simply inhale deeply through your nose and exhale air through pursed lips. If chewing on gum or sucking on a lollypop settles your emotions when conflict looms, do it.
6. Seek out a pleasant smell or take a whiff of something that jolts or excites your olfactory senses – flowers, scented candle, perfume, jar of spices.
7. Perhaps you find a nibble of chocolate or popcorn soothing.
8. Sometimes just hearing some tunes with a good beat are enough to get you moving. If there is background music in your location use. When you cannot jump, clap, run, twirl, or bounce to the beat of a song that makes you happy you can imagine your favourite song in your head and pause long enough to settle down, as if you had swayed in dance to the music.
9. Perhaps the sound of snapping your fingers, tapping your fingers on your desk, or the opening and closing of a Velcro watch band could be the sound that trigger relief.
10. Doodle.
11. Get a hug.
12. Cuddle a pet.
13. Sip a warm drink.
14. Adjust the lighting.
15. Riffle book pages.
16. Write down your feelings
17. Pause and tell someone you love them.
18. Redirect your mind and body by shifting your body position.
19. Light a candle and watch the flame.
20. Look out the window or let in fresh air.
21. Position a personalized item as a visual cue in a prominent place on your desk, shelf or wall so you can focus on it for self-regulation.
22. Sooth your hands with lotion, rub ice on your skin.
23. Steeple your fingers and pressing your palms together. Intertwine your fingers outward or inward and twist. Wring your hands.
24. Cross your arms and scratch your elbows.
25. Create an opportunity to pause long enough to run your fingers along the leaves of a plant on your desk.
26. Rub your temples or pull on your ear lobes.
27. Change where you sit in the space in relation to the others in the room.
28. Stretch out your body, focusing on the neck, shoulders, and legs. Do push-ups.
29. Stop and play detective. What is going on around you that’s triggering the stress? Delve beyond the obvious.
30. Excuse yourself and taking a short walk outdoors for a change of scenery or go into another room to put your feet in the air and breath. Try a yoga pose or brush your hair. Physical activity during and right after an overwhelming situations has been proven helpful for people to adapt to or prevent anxious situations from getting out of hand.
31. Certain physical movements that provide feedback to you vestibular and proprioceptive systems are particularly beneficial. The vestibular system includes the parts of the inner ear and brain that process the sensory information involved with your sense of balance and spatial orientation for the purpose of coordinating movement with balance and controlling eye movement. Your proprioceptive systems are the senses of position and movement of your limbs and trunk, the sense of effort, the sense of force, and the sense of heaviness. Receptors involved in proprioception are located in skin, muscles, and joints.
Anything similar to the suggestions above can change the way you feel. You can draw upon your sensory rescue toolbox whenever you experience stress. If a photo of your baby or the taste of chocolate is your rescue tool, make sure to always keep them handy. The more you avail yourself of the advantage of quick stress relief, the more it becomes a good habit. It might take a bit of practice, like learning a new skill.
In fact, quick stress relief using your sensory rescue toolbox will become so much of a habit that when stress or conflict strikes, you will eventually simply imagine the vivid sensations of your rescue tool and you will experience the same calming or bracing effects on your brain as seeing the photo of your child or tasting the chocolate. When you can recall a strong sensation, you will never be without a quick stress relief tool. How handy is that?
Do you pay attention to your emotions? Do you reflect on why they are happening? Can you recognize and make sense of one emotion after another as your experiences change from moment to moment or situation to situation? Emotional awareness means you learn from your feelings quickly and you can move through difficulties faster by using your emotions as a navigating tool. For example, if you feel sad, you can reflect on what makes you sad and from that make decisions that then help you. It also means you can predict emotions in advance – you know what actions will lead to what emotions and this means you can make better choices accordingly. For example, you can help yourself feel better by knowing what decisions lead to feeling good.
If you do not know how or what you feel in a certain way, you will find it difficult to communicate effectively or resolve disagreements. Your ability to handle conflict depends on your ability to connect to your emotions so you are able to react in constructive ways, even in the midst of a feeling vulnerable or powerless.
Many of us get bogged down in daily activities and do not make it a priority to take time out from our harried schedules to become observers of our own lives and who we are being. Self-awareness is about being in tune with what you know and understand about your own character, feelings, motives and desires. In your reach for authenticity and living a meaningful life, acquiring self-awareness is one of the biggest gifts you can give yourself. This is by no means saying that you look inward because something is broken and needs fixing or that you need to change your life. You look inward to get to know the “true you” to better understand how to avoid stress, communicate more effectively, make sounder decisions, and build strong relationships.
Learn more about Seeing the Real You That Matters
There are countless ways to manage stress. When you need something immediate during high pressure situations or in the heat of the moment, make it a habit to bring your senses to the rescue. Your sensory rescue tool will always be reliable and handy.
Flexible thinking allows
you to think about something in more than one way. It plays a key role in reducing anxiety, as well as not being overwhelmed or stifled by unpredictable circumstances in
your life or workplace.
Inspiration can strike when you least expect it, but that is an inefficient way to develop an idea or approach decision-making and problem solving. Instead, try one of these 7 quick and easy individual brainstorming techniques.
True professionals do not do things just for the sake of appearances. Your commitment and what you do back stage and unwitnessed is garners the respect of others, gives you satisfaction in life, and contributes meaningful value to a project or organization.
Do you know why you procrastinate. It may not be that you are simply overworked and under pressure. Identify a cause and fend it off with an easy-to-implement strategiy that can be implemented easily and set the tone for an non-procrastination-type day.
There is only so much energy you can muster, and few hours in the day. One of the most serious causes of work stress and unhappiness is failing to keep commitments. Are you making extraneous social or commitments that are affecting your well-being?
As a professional, you want to get the job done – and done well. You also want to keep advancing and identify opportunities. This easy pen and pencil tool can help you with a plan.
