Many of us are trying to process some big disruptions to our daily lives. There are simple ways to help deal with feelings of uncertainty and anxiety. One useful tactic may be a relaxation exercise, which can be done just about anywhere.
“Keep it simple. The mind can complicate things,” said Miranda Chapman, who is a mindfulness facilitator at The Copper Beech Institute, a non-profit retreat center located in West Hartford. Chapman offers her tips on who people can feel better and relieve stress in these very stressful times.
“One of the things that I’ve been thinking about and talking about is processing the grief first,” said Chapman. “Letting ourselves feel the sadness, feel the confusion, feel the sense of helplessness but also at the same time, not setting up camp there. Then we can move on to what’s next,” she said.
Chapman said it can be a challenge to balance the need of staying updated with what going on in the around us, and also being able to step away from it.
“We each have this tipping point when it stops being healing, nourishing, useful, helpful to know something and it starts being too much,” she said.
Aside from limiting how much information to take in, Chapman suggests getting on the ground. It may sound odd to some, but Chapman recommends you make the effort to go outside and put yourself on some solid ground.
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“If you can sit outside for just a little while or just on the ground for a little while and breath in fresh air, it’s incredibly stabilizing for the nervous system,” Chapman said.
Becoming more "grounded" allows someone to better understand the things that are out of our control, Chapman said. She also strongly recommends trying a breathing or relaxation exercise.
“Just doing something like breathing or paying attention in a different way is something that’s available to us at any moment,” she said.
“Why not try it on? If it doesn’t connect, no problem,” said Chapman. “But if it does, then… amazing!”
