Counseling Tips: De-Stress In 3 Minutes | Chappell Therapy - San Diego Counseling
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Counseling Tips For Stress Management

When we are most stressed, our mind tends to get wrapped up in thoughts about the past and future. Our minds go round and round replaying painful experiences from the past or creating worst-case-scenarios about the future. These thoughts easily spiral into feelings of being overwhelmed. Our hearts race, we have difficulty concentrating and become more reactive. In other words, our fuses become short and it affects our productivity and relationships.

Focusing on the present helps to combat this downward spiral. What does focus on the present mean? It’s called Mindfulness. Mindfulness is the practice of paying attention to what is happening in the present moment. It calls for engaging your senses: sight, sound, taste, smell, touch, and mental activity into what is actually happening right here, right now.

So, give yourself a welcome relief from the stressful and repetitive thought patterns and improve your mood with the following exercise:

Three Minutes of Mindfulness

First minute: Sit in a comfortable position, close your eyes, and take a couple of deep breaths to relax. During the first minute, try to simply notice your thoughts and feelings. Imagine a “bubble of awareness” that is only the size of your head and heart. What are you thinking about? What are you feeling right now in this moment? Remember, nothing outside of your frame of awareness matters right now. Give yourself permission to focus on noticing your thoughts and feelings as they occur. Once you have noticed them, do your best not to engage them, but to simply allow them to move on and leave your “bubble of awareness” on their own. Continue throughout the rest of this first minute by noticing whatever thought or feeling arises next.

Second minute: During the second minute, expand your “bubble of awareness” to include your physical sensations. As you do this, maintain your awareness of thoughts and feelings. Add your physical self to your frame of awareness and simply notice. What does it feel like to be in your body right now? What sensations do you notice? Again, just note them and then allow them to move on. Do your best to allow the sensations to move on just as easily as they first arose.

Third minute: In the final minute, again expand your “bubble of awareness,” this time to include the space around you. As you do this, maintain your awareness of thoughts and feelings as well as your physical sensations. Notice the room or area around you. What do you hear? What do you smell? What do you feel? What is it like to exist right here in this space in this very moment? Notice the stimuli of your present space and then allow them to move on from your focus. As the third minute comes to a close, bring your attention back to your breath and slowly open your eyes.

 

Practice these steps daily to get the calming benefits of Mindfulness: Lower blood pressure, increased immune system function and happier relationships. If you need additional support, consider engaging in Counseling that will help you to get the most out of your life and relationships.