Given the situation we are experiencing as a result of Dana, many people are suffering symptoms of anxiety, guilt, fear, exhaustion, nightmares, and difficulty sleeping. Even if you have not experienced the situation firsthand, you may be experiencing these dysfunctional states. Painful or traumatic events generate intense emotions difficult to handle, so it is essential that you practice self care. These exercises will help you recognize, manage and respond to your own emotions in a healthy way, allowing you to deal with them better.
Next, I will accompany you to discover some of these practices so you can connect with your own coping and relief resources. Remember that getting stuck will only aggravate your symptoms.
• Express and share your emotions, your story, your experiences. To work through what happened, it is important that you let go and talk about it in a safe place. With people who are a refuge for you in these moments, who tune in and support your story. Without judgments, but with active and empathetic listening.
• Recognize and accept your emotions. Don’t avoid or repress them, let go of the tension and give yourself a safe space in which to do so. Without rushing, your emotions need time to process what happened.
• Set safe limits. Depending on how you feel, you will need to distance yourself or gain perspective from what happened. Do it without guilt, do it from the responsibility of your own self-care. Overexposure can increase your anxiety and emotional exhaustion. So, as soon as you notice that the news or social networks start to overwhelm you, set a healthy and kind limit.
• Perform deep or diaphragmatic breathing exercises, meditation, or relaxation techniques. All of them can help you reduce anxiety levels in times of crisis. In addition, regular mindfulness practice will also help you stay in the present and reduce intrusive thoughts.
• Connect with a good support network. In these cases, social connections play a fundamental role in better coping with pain and promoting the relief of suffering.
• Do rewarding activities. Resume activities that you like or that relax you, for example, walking, exercising, reading. They will be a good conscious pause in which you can rest and mobilize your thoughts towards more resilient states.
• Don’t be demanding of yourself. In these moments you need to generate an internal discourse in which you are kind to yourself and can accompany you through suffering in the best way. It is a process and everyone has their time and space. The important thing is to feel that you continue moving forward. Don’t compare results or demand that you be any different. Accept each step and connect with your strength to move through it and relieve it.
Establish a daily routine in which you can contemplate these self-care practices, a time to meditate, to do a relaxing activity, to remind yourself to return to the present with kindness. Take care of yourself. It is important to respect yourself in times of difficulty and believe in yourself. Embrace yourself and cultivate your mind in virtuous states, from calm. And to do this, if you wish, I will share with you a 7-minute meditation in which you can start practicing with me.
How to cultivate calm in difficult situations.
And remember that, if you feel that emotional exhaustion or anxiety is overwhelming and persists over time, going to a psychologist can be of great help. Mental health professionals can offer you specific tools and a safe space to process what you are experiencing.
We can meet every Sunday at ABC Bienestar (I put here the list of guided meditations). You can also learn more about my work on the benefits of meditation in the book ‘The healing power of silence’ (Grijalbo) and on the instagram account: @belencolomina.
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