Here are five tips Debbie shared with our FIRST teams, to kickstart the discussion and focus on dealing with stress and anxiety.
Tip 1. Breathe
Practicing breathing exercises is a great way to help manage stress and anxiety. Certain exercises allow people to slow their minds, eliminate tension from their bodies, and understand the full situation that they are dealing with. So what do these breathing exercises look like? Debbie walked us through one, so the next time you find yourself dealing with stress – try this:
Step 1: Inhale for 4 seconds
Step 2: Hold for 2 seconds
Step 3: Exhale for 6 seconds
Step 4: Hold for 2 seconds
Step 5: Repeat as necessary
Tip 2. Reframing
Reframing can be an incredibly difficult thing to do, especially when put under stress, however, with practice people can master this incredibly effective technique. So, what is reframing? Simply put, reframing is the practice of taking one thought and replacing it with another. When someone is looking at a stressful situation, they would reframe by making it manageable, taking a step back, and centering their thoughts around the positives that can come from this situation while focusing on what they can currently do.
Tip 3. Use your senses
When people activate their five senses it can help to alleviate stress and anxiety. When people find themselves in stressful situations they can activate their senses by pressing their fingers together, feeling their feet on the floor and more. These offer subtle ways to center the mind without drawing attention.
