If you are like most people in 2014, your life is filled with commitments, chores, errands, roles and things to do. Stress is becoming an epidemic and stress management is more important that ever.
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When someone feels they have more things to do, than they have time to do those things in, the mind perceives this as a stress. Daily, cumulative stress can be so dangerous for your body.
Here are a few quick strategies that you can try the next time you are stressed.
Sensory Grounding Exercises
The purpose of a sensory grounding exercise is to bring your attention into the present moment by using all of your senses.
The name of this strategy is called 5-4-3-2-1.
Right now I want you to:
- Look around the room and name five things you can see
- Move your focus into your body and name four things you can feel
- Bring your attention to your hearing, name three things you can hear
- Pay attention to your sense of smell and name two things you can smell – or two things you like the smell of
- Name one things you can taste or that you like the taste of.
The next time you are stressed and your mind starts to spin about all you have to do, pause and do the 5-4-3-2-1.
You may need to do it more than once, but by bringing your attention to the present moment, using your senses, you are stopping the mind from from spinning more and more with stressful thoughts.
This is just one more small stress management tip that you can add to your bag of tricks for reducing and preventing stress.
Your self-care challenge is to stop and do the 5-4-3-2-1 the next time you notice your stress rising.
Cheers
Charlene
oxox