1. Down-Shift Your Body
1.1. The more you focus on the worries, and judgments rushing through your mind, the more anxious and stressed out you become.
1.2. Bring your mental and physical state down from overdrive, back to baseline.
1.3. Use grounding techniques that help you de-escalate your emotional reactions and physically calm down your nervous system.
1.4. A great grounding exercise is the 5–4–3–2–1 technique.
1.5. You can also try:
1.5.1. Clenching and releasing your fist
1.5.2. Digging your heels into the floor
1.5.3. Relaxing your hips into the corners of your chair
1.5.4. Concentrate on the eye colour of the person you’re speaking to
1.6. Pay attention to concrete, observable sensations and objects around you
1.6.1. It channels your attention toward what’s true and what you can control, versus the chatter running through your head.
2. Drain Your brain
2.1. Don't keep the thoughts and feelings inside
2.2. Try emotional release writing. Write about the overwhelming emotions
2.3. Grab your notebook, or pop open a fresh Word doc
2.4. For 5 minutes, write about what you’re feeling overwhelmed about.
2.5. Journal in response to the specific emotions you feel, like: I feel demoralized because…
2.6. The goal of this practice is to explore your problems– to stop them from bouncing around inside your head and distracting you.
3. Decide on an Action
3.1. Arrive at the answers for yourself, considering your goals, the particular situation, and the other people involved.
3.2. Ask yourself:
3.2.1. Do you have all the information you need to make a decision? If not, what can you do to get a better understanding?
3.2.2. What does a successful resolution to this challenge look like?
3.2.3. What would you regret not doing or saying?
3.2.4. Which action is most aligned with your values?
3.2.5. What’s the worst that could reasonably happen if you choose a certain action? Are you okay with this outcome?
3.2.6. What’s the best that could happen if you choose a certain action? Are you satisfied with that outcome?