9 Guaranteed Ways to Help You Stay Cool Under Pressure
Anxiety is the most common mental illness among adults in the United States. In fact, about 18% of adults in the country live with the effects of anxiety every day.
Anxiety disorders occur with varying degrees of severity, but even the mildest forms can disrupt your day to day life. If you suffer from anxiety, whether occasional or chronic, it can feel like there’s no escape. But there are things you can do to stay cool under pressure!
By employing a few of the following techniques to stay calm and focused, you might find that your days of stressing out are a thing of the past.
Let’s get started!
1. Focus On Your Breathing
Your breath can have a huge impact on how you feel both mentally and physically. When you start to feel stressed, put all of your focus on your breathing.
We typically take much more shallow breaths than we really should. Taking deep, intentional breaths will tell your body to stop producing the hormones that cause stress.
Breathe in through your nose and into your stomach. Hold the air in your body for at least five seconds, then gently breathe out through your mouth.
2. Make a Gratitude List
When you’re trying to remain calm, mindset is everything. Anxiety is a vicious cycle. You begin to feel anxious, and that feeling causes you to imagine the worst-case scenario, which increases the intensity of the anxiety.
Instead of allowing this cycle to begin, focus on the positives. It can be extremely beneficial to make a gratitude list in low moments. With pen and paper, physically write out the things you’re grateful for, big and small.
Staying positive will not only reduce stress in the short term but can lead to improvements in your overall mental health in the long run.
3. Enjoy Nature Often
Many of us don’t get outside nearly as much as we should. Getting just a few minutes of sunshine in your day to day life can do wonders for your mental health.
Sitting outside is enough to boost your mood, but to get maximum benefits, get some exercise while you’re enjoying the fresh air. By exercising at least 30 minutes a day outside, you’ll receive double the mood-boosting benefits!
4. Don’t Neglect Sleep
Quality sleep is the foundation for good health. You should be getting between 7 and 9 hours of good sleep per night. Anything less, and you put your health in jeopardy.
Lack of sleep can negatively impact your physical health and is a major contributing factor in both depression and anxiety. In today’s fast-paced society, it’s easy to put sleep on the back burner. But prioritizing sleep is one of the best things you can do for yourself if you experience anxiety.
5. Keep Positive People Around You
It’s said that we are a combination of those closest to us. And while we shouldn’t allow that to limit our abilities and aspirations, it’s true that the people you surround yourself with have an impact on how you feel.
By surrounding yourself with negative people, you put yourself at risk of being dragged down. If someone in your life makes you feel less than or is a constant source of stress, you need to consider cutting them out.
It can be painful to break free of people close to you, but finding friends that uplift you rather than bring you down can change your life.
6. Don’t Demand Perfection
We are our own biggest critics. Many of us think more negatively of ourselves than we ever would of others. For people with anxiety, feelings of perfectionism are common.
It’s difficult to break the cycle of negative self-talk but to stay calm under stress, it’s imperative that you do. You’re not perfect – no one is, and that’s okay! Always work toward improvement instead of striving for perfection.
7. Practice Yoga and Meditation
If you struggle with mindfulness, practicing yoga and meditation can help you stay calm. Over time, meditation can actually change the chemistry of your brain, making you a calmer, more stress-free person.
You don’t have to meditate for hours. Simply sit in a comfortable space with some incense or pre rolled joints and concentrate on your breathing. You’ll feel better in no time!
8. Loosen Up
A common side effect of stress is tightness in the face and other areas of the body. When you feel anxiety coming on, take a quick survey of how you feel physically and make a conscious effort to relax any muscles that might have tensed.
Unclench your jaw, relax your forehead and hands, roll your shoulders back, shake around a little if you need to! It might sound strange, but telling yourself that you’re no longer stressed by relaxing your body can make your mind calm down.
9. Look at the Big Picture
We encounter stressful situations every day. Now, you shouldn’t make the situation worse by telling yourself that what you’re feeling is wrong.
That said, more often than not, we get caught up in small stressors, which exacerbates the issue. In these instances, it can be helpful to remind yourself of the big picture.
Is this problem going to matter tomorrow? Next year? Ten years from now?
Stressing about a problem does nothing to help the situation. Let go, remind yourself that it’s not the end of the world, take a deep breath, and move forward.
Stay Cool Under Pressure with These Tips
Sometimes staying cool under pressure can feel impossible, especially in situations you find particularly stressful. But by making a conscious effort to ground yourself and calm down, you can find your way through these situations with minimal mental distress.
For more tips on improving your mental health naturally, be sure to take a look at our blog!
