Probably, each of us sometimes finds ourselves in a dead end situation, when there are many unresolved issues and it is not clear what to do next. And each of us is so overloaded mentally and emotionally that we are at the limit of our capabilities and do not know how to get out of this state. The solution that I found for myself was the old Japanese school, Zen practice.
Zen is one of the schools of Buddhism brought to Japan from China, where it arose around the beginning of the 6th century AD. Zen is slightly different from other areas of Buddhism in its contemplation, a change in the way of perceiving the world, thinking and state.
So how can you change them? It doesn’t matter how many problems have accumulated and how difficult life has become. All worries can be reduced!
The main components of stress are not only difficulties and problems, but also a lack of mobility. We are used to living immersed in the outside world, and we do not devote any time to our condition and well-being.
To avoid prolonged stress, you need to learn, at least temporarily, not to think about other things, but to be alone with yourself. How we live our lives and how long our strength will last depends on this.
Article on the topic
Yoga against stress: 5 exercises that will help relieve fatigue
Don't be sour!
These days we mostly sit. We lead a sedentary lifestyle from the very morning, when we travel in the car or on the subway to work. Then we sit down at our workplace and also sit most of the time. When we drive back home, we sit. When we eat in the morning, at lunch and in the evening, we sit. And when we relax at home in front of the TV or laptop, we sit again.
Even in ancient times, when Bodhidharma came to China and Buddhism was born, sets of exercises were compiled for monks to primarily maintain health. And then - to protect monasteries from robbers and attacks. Monks often had to sit while reading sutras or in meditation. Sets of exercises helped them strengthen their physical condition and not get sick.
To feel good, you need constant training of the heart and circulatory system! If a person does not train, his body loses its original properties, ages, becomes rough, and disruptions occur both in the distribution of substances and oxygen and in the removal of unnecessary substances from the body. The breakdown products at the cellular level are oxides (nitric oxide, carbon monoxide), and if you do not move, the body becomes acidic. All this directly affects the well-being of the body. There is a feeling of lethargy, drowsiness, problems sleeping, it’s hard to get up in the morning, a nasty feeling of laziness appears, which interferes with everything.
But all this is easy to get rid of. Just 40-60 minutes of exercise a day is enough and you will feel much better.
The first 10-20 minutes are best spent doing gentle, slow movements and stretching after you wash your face in the morning. The task is to work out and disperse stagnant blood in as many muscles as possible. The largest volumes of blood accumulated after sleep are in the abdomen and legs. A little warm-up can clear up stagnant blood, activate the functioning of your internal organs, increase the flow of oxygen to your brain, and you will feel better and well prepared for the work day.
In the evening, it is recommended to exercise thoroughly for 30–40 minutes. These can be regular warm-up exercises, push-ups, squats, and abs. It's good if you have the opportunity to run. Don't run too fast to avoid stressing your heart and lungs. A normal, easy run of 10–15 minutes will be quite sufficient. Every 3-5 minutes of running, it is recommended to take a step. Your task is not to overload your body, but to create conditions for ventilation of the lungs and increase the flow of oxygen into the circulatory system, move your muscles, and that’s it. In this mode, the heart works harder and pumps blood through the vessels, the old is washed out; more oxygen appears in hard-to-reach areas. 10-15 minutes of running is enough to pump blood throughout the body. And you don’t have to spend an hour on the treadmill in the gym, unless you’re an athlete, of course.
There is a big disadvantage in the gym: you walk on a flat surface and your feet don’t warm up. You try to focus on coordination so you don't fall off the track. This overstrains the brain; instead of a relaxed run, you get a stressful state in your head. It is best to run on dirt or grass. Running on asphalt is a recipe for future joint problems. A hard surface is bad for the knee joint, but grass and dirt roads cushion the legs when they touch the ground, reducing the load on the knees. However, if it is not possible to run in the park in winter, it is better to go on a treadmill than to sit and get sour.
Article on the topic
Meditation: How to Calm the Mind and Relax the Body
Give your brain a rest
Few people think about it, but our brain, that is, our mind, is a constant analyst, it is busy 24 hours a day.
The mind creates assessments, and our feelings turn on after the conclusion has been made. If the mind says “bad” or “wrong,” we begin to worry and worry, feel dissatisfaction or doubt. Psychologically, we are all afraid of doing something wrong that will cause condemnation. This is very deep in the subconscious, and it is not clearly visible in everyday life. However, it is this fear of making a mistake, of doing something wrong, that leads to most of our worries and worries.
Can you imagine that most problems essentially don't exist? They are just our own interpretation of events. And we ourselves create a negative emotional background. The most interesting thing is that it does not contribute in any way to solving problems. Especially considering that most situations do not have an immediate solution, you need to spend several days or weeks on a series of actions to solve the problem. Then what's the point of bringing yourself to worry?
Zen techniques can help us remove unnecessary thoughts from our heads, stop our worries and concentrate on what we really need to do.
So, our mental state depends on the state of the mind. This means we must learn to direct it in order to avoid negative consequences.
But if you try to take control of it, you will fall into the trap of the mind: one part will catch it, the other will run away. Therefore, directing the mind is a very delicate matter and requires concentration.
The first is focusing on thinking. And the second is concentration on your inner world, inside your consciousness. And you just need to learn how to switch them. It's quite simple. If you focus your attention on thoughts about problems, then these thoughts will appear and appear until someone or something distracts you. If nothing distracts you, you can easily bring yourself to the brink of your problem. And if you learn to switch yourself, you will direct attention to your inner world and stop the flow of thoughts. Meanwhile, the emotions will settle and subside.
How to learn to switch attention? First you need to understand that consciousness controls attention. Attention is concentration.
How to stop being nervous and worrying
You can stop worrying by limiting your fixation on the situation and the work of your imagination; of course, you should anticipate various options for the development of the situation and take into account bad outcomes, but this does not mean that all thoughts should be devoted only to this. Weakening the supply of the nervous system by worrying about the future or coming up with different versions of the past will not help get rid of worries. During the onset of anxiety, you should take care of the present situation, instead of anticipating future events. Learn to stop your mental flow and narrow the scope of perception to the current moment in those moments when you are overwhelmed by experiences, so you can direct the rising energy in a constructive direction, instead of fraying your nerves. It helps not to worry about future troubles by speaking (perhaps even mentally) of what is happening at the moment (you are chewing an apple, crossing the road, making coffee - even the funniest thing said out loud brings you back to the present).
By analyzing fears about possible failures, and then looking at the number of those that have come true, you will get a conclusion about your good imagination. Most of all the horrors depicted by our anxiety never come true, but nerves about this are quite real, affecting the general resource of the nervous system and the quality of health of the whole organism. If you can’t get rid of thoughts about possible failures, then you can always change their course and instead of spinning the plot up to the point of a horror movie script, start thinking about ways to solve the problems that arise, or better yet, look for the benefits that can be derived from what happened. Knowing how to handle the situation, it becomes not a problem for us, but only a certain stage, and if we see a certain benefit for ourselves in this, then the fear and worries about its occurrence finally leave the emotional sphere.
Take a break from prolonged concentration on complex or problematic issues by trying to walk more, saturate your body with oxygen, and play with your pets (this activity, by the way, is a great stress reliever). You can play a game or meet with friends, attend an interesting event and add a little adrenaline to your life (this hormone also helps fight stress, brings you out of stupor and panic into a state of effective activity, and can also reboot your brain and give you a new vision).
If you are often nervous and worried, then add movement in the form of exercises or fitness, jogging or a pool membership - it’s all about your preferences. In addition to helping to process various difficult emotions, physical activity promotes the production of endorphins, which ultimately helps you see the world in less dark tones and, accordingly, worry less.
Aromatherapy and music therapy are excellent helpers for stabilizing the nerves. There are special mixtures of scents that have a relaxing and calming effect, as well as works that affect your emotional state and entire collections of them. All this can be found at the nearest pharmacy and downloaded to your player, the only thing is that it will take time for a noticeable effect to occur. Therefore, try to do sessions regularly, it is especially good to combine them with other types of care for your nerves, for example, doing meditative practices accompanied by appropriate relaxing music, in a room filled with aromatherapy scents. In situations where your nerves are completely at their limit or have been under the test of circumstances for a long time, if you no longer control your emotional outbursts and can scream or cry unexpectedly for yourself, it makes sense to take sedatives. They, from harmless valerian to serious tranquilizers, should be prescribed by a doctor, taking into account all the characteristics of your body, since most of them also affect the heart, the speed of reactions, may be contraindicated or even require antidepressants. In addition, a specialist may recommend working with a psychologist to resolve situations that led to such a condition and even issue a sick leave to restore the nervous system.
Breath! Do not breath
Concentration on thinking activates the thinking process. Concentration on internal sensations forces the consciousness to listen to the sensations within itself and in the body. And at this time thinking slowly subsides. Therefore, if you want to shift your concentration to internal sensations...
Just sit on a chair in a relaxed position or lie down if you are completely tired. But it’s best to sit in the half-lotus position (Turkish style), so that your spine is straight, your shoulders are straightened, your head is kept level, your chin is tucked, and your gaze is straight ahead. Breathe evenly, smoothly and count your breaths. The optimal exercise time is 50–100 breaths.
Article on the topic
Yoga can change your life, or How to learn to talk to your body
At 50–60 inhalations, you will want to run away from this exercise; it is your Ego that will try to slip out. But after 70-80 inhalations, you will feel peace and calm. You will feel inner strength, and most importantly, your head will be clear and quiet.
The breathing counting technique is used for beginners; it helps to concentrate on inhalation and exhalation and the sensations from it. Enough to redirect attention from thinking to awareness. At this moment, your mind - your brain - will not work! And plus, this method allows you not to think about the clock and time, but just sit and continue practicing until it ends.
The best effect will be in combination, if you do both the body and this kind of meditation, it will be enough to do it in the morning and in the evening.
If you do these exercises in combination, then your performance will increase and you will get less tired than usual. On the days of the most intense projects, during very difficult periods, try to take a 10-minute break every hour or two to “clear” your mind. The brain gets more tired when it is forced to work without breaks. Headache occurs not only as a result of pressure, but also as a result of depletion of energy reserves in brain cells. So that tired cells can synthesize enough energy for themselves, recover, and need a break. Find a quiet place, sit and close your eyes, focusing on your inner state. In 10 minutes you will become calmer and more peaceful.
Causes of nervous condition
To stop being nervous, you need to understand the causes of internal anxiety.
They can be:
- Physiological
, associated with various disorders in the body. Most often, a nervous condition occurs due to hormonal disorders. The provoking factor is a lack of vitamins and nutrients in the body. - Psychological
, caused by stressful situations. As a rule, in this case, insomnia and rapid fatigue with minimal exertion are often observed.
Norm
Almost all people experience nervousness in certain situations. This condition is not always considered pathological. If nervousness is caused by completely understandable reasons, then this is considered normal. The main thing is that you need to recognize them and direct efforts to cope with the problems that arise as soon as possible. It is considered normal when a person is nervous for some understandable reason, but at the same time he manages to maintain his usual lifestyle.
In medicine there is such a definition as a mental norm. In a stable state, a person rarely shows nervousness that is noticeable to others. He can withstand physical stress, work productively, and successfully realize his own natural abilities. From a medical point of view, mental health is the ability to adapt to any living conditions.
You should not treat moderate experiences and worries as a pathology. This is a natural property of any healthy person. Thanks to it, all the internal reserves of the body are mobilized, which allows you to adequately respond to emerging difficulties and make the right decisions to stabilize the condition.
Pathologies
The fact that nervousness is pathological is evidenced by various obvious symptoms that are not difficult for close people to notice. A person’s aggressiveness towards other people should be alarming. The risk group includes workaholics who do not tend to relax outside of work. People with unhealthy addictions, including those who are addicted to alcohol, may need help. An unhealthy lifestyle aggravates nervous disorders.
A person definitely needs the help of a doctor when he exhibits the following symptoms in combination:
- Insomnia, which is combined with nightmares.
- Constant irritability for no reason.
- The presence of constant internal anxiety, expectation of something bad.
Against the background of this condition, a person feels constant fatigue and loses performance. He cannot concentrate; there are constantly obsessive thoughts in his head that he cannot distract himself from.
It is very dangerous if the listed symptoms are accompanied by headaches, dizziness, shortness of breath, rapid heartbeat, indigestion, and other unpleasant disorders. This indicates serious disturbances in the functioning of the body. In this case, you cannot do without medical help.
Change the scenery
In the most difficult and stressful situations, when you are overcome by anxiety, it is best to change the space in which you are: go out into the fresh air, to the park, or just walk down the street. Walking and changing objects around you can pull you out of a mental tailspin and free you from the flow of emotions. And if possible, take a cool shower. Water greatly tones our body, refreshes and calms us.
What should you not do during stress? Drink coffee, energy drinks or black tea. Caffeine, theine and other tonic substances only activate the heart, increase blood pressure and make the brain work more actively.
You should not take it out on your family or colleagues. If you are stressed out at work, irritation and open war will not help you. All worthy victories are made with cold calculation. All great defeats are in a hurry. Remember this and remain calm. Many problems are resolved quickly, within a day or several, but the aftertaste of screaming and swearing remains forever. Do not allow them in your life, so as not to darken the lives of your loved ones and colleagues with negative impressions about yourself.
So what do you need? 10-15 minutes of exercise in the morning and 30-40 minutes in the evening. Conduct brief meditation twice a day, counting 50–100 inhalations and exhalations. And short breaks from work to recover. And most importantly, a simple understanding that we “inflict” all the problems on ourselves. By controlling yourself, unnecessary negativity in life can be avoided.
