In our daily lives it is easy for things to happen to us that make us feel bad, that inoculate us with a certain amount of anxiety or that remind us of stressful experiences that come to our consciousness again and again.
Faced with these types of experiences… how to clear your mind? In this article we will see some tips that will facilitate this transition from an agitated mental state marked by anxiety to one in which there is greater calm and, in general, a better willingness to act constructively without focusing attention on what is bothering us. disturbs
It is clear that the human mind is one of the most complex phenomena in nature. We are capable of feeling, thinking and imagining a large repertoire of psychological elements and this has allowed us to survive for thousands of years, even when civilizations did not exist.
However, the fact that we are complex living beings with an amazing tendency to be psychologically influenced by our environment does not only have advantages. The price paid for this ease of “soaking up” what is happening around us means that some of those mental traces escape our voluntary control. Trauma is the classic example of this, but there are many other less serious cases. For example, if we have had a very stressful week or something has happened that has disturbed us clearing our mind will not be something that will be solved in a matter of a second.
Taking into account that most mental processes escape immediate voluntary control, calming the mind is not a simple task, nor is it something that can be done immediately, in just a few seconds. However, we can do things to indirectly get our nervous system out of that state of excessive excitement. To do this we must act both in the way in which we relate to the environment, and in certain physiological processes that can be influenced indirectly. Let’s see how to do it.
1. If you can, go to the quietest place available
This first step is important, since it allows us to not add more real noise coming from the outside to the “noise” that is already in our head. Submitting yourself to many stimuli at the same time is not the best idea when it comes to calming the mind, since hinders voluntary control of attention focus
So, go to a quiet room or an open natural space where calm reigns, if it can be a large meadow so as not to have visual obstacles nearby that could make you sense the existence of possible threats (something unrealistic but, when We experience anxiety, we can think with relative ease).
2. Understand the cause of your discomfort
This is a first step that allows you to organize your thoughts so that your beliefs and opinions about them form a more or less coherent “whole.” In the face of uncertainty we tend to assume that the most terrible and negative situations will occur, but express in a more rational and systematized way What we believe helps to rule out several of these fears, although usually not all.
So, this is a first step to locate those beliefs that may be affecting what we feel at that moment, the root of the fact that we need to calm our mind given that there is something that makes us feel bad.
To make this step easier, you can write down on a piece of paper what you think you feel. A few lines will be enough, but in some cases you will feel like spontaneously going longer. If so, dedicate as much time as you think is necessary and keep in mind that nothing you are writing has to conform to what is really happening: simply It is a description of how you feel at that moment
Then, consider whether there are aspects of that description that sound clearly unrealistic. Something that can help you is to imagine that what you read has happened to another person: would everything that is explained make sense to you?
On the other hand, if you think that the reason why you have entered that state of anxiety is not based on specific experiences but has to do with something more primary and intuitive (the fact of having seen a video in which there is a lot of violence, , the appearance of intrusive thoughts that make you remember an image you don’t like, etc.) skip this section, since in this case the root of the problem is not easy to verbalize nor does it have to be based mainly on beliefs.
3. Use relaxation exercises
In this step, the target is in the physiological processes that help keep you in a state of alert even though there is no real immediate danger lurking around you. To do this, you can use aids such as Jacobson’s Progressive Relaxation or various types of breathing exercises.
Keep in mind that this is one of the ways to clear your mind that requires a minimum of preparation, although having practiced a few times is usually enough to achieve results.
4. Look for stimulating tasks in which to channel your energy
Unlike the rest of the tips to clear your mind, this one does not focus so much on eliminating that excess activation as, rather, on channel some of that psychological tension Playing sports is a good way to achieve this, since in this type of activity it is easy for you to find a balance between your level of skill and the level of difficulty of the challenges you set for yourself.
By doing this, it is easier for your attention to remain focused on the coordination of your muscles according to an immediate objective, so that the recurring thoughts and mental images that came your way lose strength in favor of an activity that demands your five senses in the here and now.
5. Seek help
There are cases in which the discomfort and feeling of mental agitation are so pronounced that one cannot manage the situation oneself. In these types of situations it is good to seek the help of other people, whether friends or family, so that together we can redefine what causes discomfort.
If this does not help, it is best to go to psychological therapy. provided by mental health professionals Although in the latter case it obviously takes more than a few minutes to obtain results, it is highly advisable for situations in which the intensity of the phenomenon experienced is high.
