Three Techniques to Get Out of a Mental Rut
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The mind can be a battlefield. If you’ve ever experienced a panic attack you know firsthand what mental hell is like. In my late twenties and early thirties, I had panic attacks all the time. I mean on the daily and oftentimes multiple times a day. I would freeze and feel like I couldn’t drive my car. I didn’t want to go very many places for fear of getting overstimulated. Being extroverted this felt really difficult. I was torn between what my soul and body wanted to do every day. I needed to bring my body out of fight or flight but being stuck at home to do so in a calm environment was torture in itself because then I was alone with my thoughts. Over time I would get therapy and begin working on training my brain to focus on new things. I would learn different coping techniques that were not full proof but would oftentimes get the job done. It took work. Each day I’d start going down the same worry wormholes and I’d spend time and energy pulling myself out. I figured some of you might be dealing with this, too. Here are three coping tools you can use when you go down a negative mental path:
Change Your Location
This is one of the most effective for me but since we are all different, you’ll have to see what works for you. Change rooms, changes locations, change where you are sitting, and change your body position. Whatever you need to do, just get up and change your environment. If you need to leave the house, leave. If you need a walk, take a walk. If you need a bath, take a bath. Get your body out of where it’s at right then and there.
Art Therapy
Grab a pen and paper, paints or crayons, and just get your pen moving. There’s something very therapeutic about scribbling on paper when anger arises. Art is an excellent tool (even if you can’t draw) to activate serotonin in the brain. Draw designs, draw lines, and circles, or just scribble feverishly. Anytime you start getting negative, pick up a pen and paper and get your hands going. Not only will it help give the body something to do, but it helps the mind as it processes emotions. Finally, it helps raise serotonin which will give your body the chemicals it needs to relax over time.
Put A Motivational Podcast in Your Ears and Move
One of the biggest issues with negative mental patterns is not being able to see the solution because we are so focused on the problem. Instead of going in mental circles overanalyzing all of the things that can be wrong or go wrong… take a step back and put something positive in your ears. If you can’t think positively yourself, then get someone positive to talk to you. Drown out your thoughts with music and positive sounds. I personally love ET the Hip-hop Preacher on YouTube. His energy and candidness speak to my heart every time. Abraham Hicks has a softer tone and is an incredible resource for attracting positive things. If something doesn’t sit well with you, change it. Raise your vibrations one degree at a time. You can do this. You can move into a positive space and over time it will become normal.
Growth is a process and changing thought patterns takes time, energy, and consistency. Anyone, I repeat, anyone can do it. Each day, notice when you have a negative pattern and do one of the above tasks. Then rinse and repeat. Keep doing this until you work through it and the thoughts become positive again. They will. Push your energy forward. You got this!
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This past year has amounted to an extreme amount of growth. Almost a year ago, I made the decision to go back to one-on-one counseling to sort out some stuff that was surfacing emotionally in my life. It was so hard, but I finally feel like I’m on the upswing and things are more manageable. It’s easy to make excuses in our lives for behaviors we did when we were not at our best. It’s also really easy to blame others for the things that went wrong. Ultimately, accepting full responsibility for my life has given me freedom and inner power I did not know a few years ago. I’m going to share with you today 10 Things I Learned this Year in hopes of inspiring you to rise above your current state of being into a higher version of yourself.