4 Daily Habits Of People Who Can Withstand Extremely High Stress
Awareness brings calm in chaos.
Kaboompics.com | Canva The economy is spinning out of control. People are losing their jobs. Trust in banks and brokerage houses has been eroded, and savings are in jeopardy. So, how is it that millions of people are still smiling?
No matter the stressors in your life or the ups and downs of the stock market, the secret is that learning how to deal with anxiety can help you stay calm and in control of your state of mind — no matter how anxious or chaotic your life gets.
Here are 4 daily habits of people who can withstand extremely high stress:
1. Write down the facts of the distressing event.
What is happening right now in the present moment?
2. Make a list of each thought, picture, or story triggered by the event.
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Stay curious as you let the negative thoughts come to the surface. Instead of suppressing those thoughts, write down any fears you are worried might happen in the future, as suggested by a study in the Journal of Personality. Notice if the current situation triggers any memories or experiences.
What memories or images does this event bring back to you? No matter how much you believe the thoughts to be true, they are just one way things might turn out. You are ready for the next step once you have a list of negative thoughts, stories, and pictures.
3. Figure out your possible solutions.
For each negative thought you have listed, write down two possible positive thoughts or possible positive outcomes. Repeat this for each negative thought on the list until all your negative thoughts have two possible positive responses.
You are far more used to telling yourself negative stories than positive ones, as supported by a review of research in the Cognitive Therapy and Research Journal. So, it may feel a little strange at first to accept these positive thoughts as readily as you did the negative ones.
At first, this technique may take some conscious effort. With practice, you’ll find that the positive thoughts start to pop up on their own — just as the negative ones once did.
Harnessing your powerful mind and imagination can create a whole range of positive possibilities. A study in the Journal of Personality shows that by using them to replace negative thoughts, you’ll find the cycle of worry changes to a new cycle of hope, calm, and power.
The three steps in this technique are so powerful you might experience an immediate lifting of your spirit after practicing them for the first time. If this doesn’t happen for you, keep practicing and see what happens after three weeks. Sometimes, it may take more time to unravel old patterns.
If you find that even after three weeks, the negative thoughts are still creeping into your mind, it might mean more deeply rooted triggers or beliefs are needed to bring about the life-changing experience you're seeking.
Even if you're one of the people for whom results take a little longer, decide to continue doing these three steps, and you might surprise yourself with the results.
4. Recognize when you're feeding your anxiety.
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Sometimes, your thoughts move through your mind so quickly that you don’t even realize you have one until your heart is pounding or your body responds with other symptoms.
Your conscious and unconscious thoughts have a powerful impact on your reactions. People with panic, worry, and anxiety typically have scary thoughts that add to their physical symptoms.
Sometimes, these thoughts move so quickly that you might be unable to stop them. But what you can do is recognize the bodily symptoms.
Research in the Trends in Neurosciences Journal shows how fearful thoughts stimulate the body, which then responds with more anxiety-producing chemicals. This, in turn, adds to more scary thoughts about something being wrong and more bodily symptoms. Around and around it goes, wreaking havoc on the entire mind and body.
Since the mind affects the physical body, using the mind to stop this vicious cycle and heal the body is one of the most productive stress relief techniques for calming anxiety, worry, and fear. The easiest way to do this is to rate the intensity of your feelings and change your breathing patterns.
Here's how to deal with anxiety by determining the intensity of your feelings and then changing your breathing patterns to overcome it:
- Stop and take a moment to rate your level of anxiety.
- Use the rating gauge of 0 (calm) to 10 (anxiety attack)
- Close your eyes and notice any physical areas of tension.
- Breathe, changing the pattern.
- Take a two-second inhalation.
- Hold for a slow count of four.
- Exhale for the count of eight or more with your mouth open. (The longer the exhalation, the better.)
- Repeat the breath. In through the nose for a count of six.
- Hold for a slow count of four.
- Exhale count of eight or more. Keep your mouth open, making a soft haaa sound.
Repeat this breathing exercise three more times, then rate your level again (calm) to 10 (anxiety attack).
Use this new breathing pattern three times a day and any time you feel anxiety or stress. Most people feel the difference after the first use. And after two weeks, you’ll notice a more significant shift in your stress level.
There are many different tools for calming the mind and body, and this is a good one to start with. As you calm the mind, your focus improves, creativity flows more easily, and self-confidence builds as you feel you can take back control.
This secret is what Viktor Frankl used that allowed him to survive the holocaust and maintain his mental balance. It is what author Napoleon Hill weaves into his famous advice on achieving financial success in Think and Grow Rich.
And it is something you have within yourself right now, like a gift, all wrapped up, waiting for you to unwrap and put into immediate use.
Best of all, anyone can learn to use this gift. It is so simple that once it is explained, you might think, "I knew that."
But the amazing thing about this gift is that it never gets used up. The more you use it, the more powerful it becomes — until you can control your emotional state at will, almost without conscious thought.
The powerful gift you have within you right now is the power of your mind. It is the ability to use mindfulness exercises to create thoughts that empower rather than ones that tear you down or trigger fear, worry, and anxiety.
The key is to start with your thoughts because you can change them once you are aware of what is triggering emotions.
Although it’s very simple, changing your breathing pattern is powerful. When you change your breathing pattern, it sends a message to the brain that is interpreted as "Things are OK," which can lead to calmness and peace despite living in a chaotic world.
Audrey Sussman, Ph.D., is a nationally recognized seminar leader and author who, after years of study and practice dealing with her own anxiety, created a transformation system for the relief of panic, phobias, and migraines.
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