7 Steps to a Balanced Mind - Wellbeing at Work
Useful Resources to help Your Wellbeing at Work
by Guest Blogger - Jill Savage, Mindfulness Expert
We now have a prominent word in our language – Covid 19. It sounds a bit like an undercover agent from a Bond movie – silent but deadly and unfortunately it is now a reality of our daily lives. We also have a daily feast of negative and potentially disturbing news about the impact of this virus There is precious little certainty or reassurance on how any of this will play out in the months to come. There are also heart-warming scenes too. Italians singing and showing solidarity on their balconies including Maurizio Marchini singing Puccini’s “Nessun Dorma.” Humanity at its very best.
Sadly though, our brain holds a negative bias rather than a positive one from our evolution plus it doesn’t care for a daily cocktail of uncertainty and threat . For some of us it can feel like a meteorite attacking our sanity where we can ruminate, catastrophize and create low mood, anxiety and depression from stories we tell ourselves. As Pema Choden says, “It isn’t what happens to us that causes us to suffer; it’s what we say to ourselves about what happens.” The negative stuff is more ‘sticky’ and more like Velcro than Teflon and as Professor Paul Gilbert says, our brains are tricky.
We all react to these events in different ways , some of us gung- ho, some despondent, some triggered by anxiety, some in denial, some fairly balanced and each one of us has a uniquely wired brain and amygdala activity based on our own experience and formative years. As an executive coach and mindfulness teacher I am drawing on all the resources I can muster to counter my own wobble and anxiety to create some semblance of equanimity. These practices, from the world of mindfulness and compassion, I pass onto my coaching clients looking to increase their own resilience, positivity and growth mind-set. They may add value to these very testing times and a little can go a long way. I have outlined 7 practices that might at least allow a little more balance and ease into our nervous systems when we need it most.
Step 1: When you are in your head, switch to being in your senses
When you are in your head switch to being in your senses. If we find ourselves in ruminating stories about the impact of Covid 19 then we are in our heads and in our own “narrative.” Once we are AWARE and that is the key awareness of what our brains are doing we can switch out attention to an “experiential” mode where we experience the world through our senses. This may include our feet planted on the ground, our bum on the seat and feeling the sun or breeze on our face and noticing the beauty of nature. You can’t be in both modes so by switching your attention to your senses it can make a big difference and nip those catastrophizing thoughts in the bud – give it a go and see what you think.
Step 2: 5/5 Soothing Breathing Rhythm
If you feel triggered you will be in your sympathetic nervous system and possibly in hyper arousal. We can feel safe and soothed in our parasympathetic nervous system and one way to do this is to practice a soothing breathing rhythm, where you deepen and slow the breath to about 5 breaths per minute and soften and open at the heart area. The key is to have a smooth in-breath and a smooth out-breath. 5/5 seconds for both is most typical however find a count that works for you. So build up your 5/5 soothing breathing rhythm slowly and find a count that works for you. For example, Breathe in for 2,3, and then breathe out for 2,3Breathe in for 2, 3,4 and then breathe out for 2,3,4Breathe in for 2,3,4,5 and then breathe out for 2,3,4,5Allow yourself to fall into a natural rhythm on the air coming in through the tip of your nose and deep down into the diaphragm as it rises on the in-breath and falls away on the out-breath. Perhaps say to yourself “Mind Slowing Down” and “Body Slowing Down” as you keep to a nice even rhythm. Notice yourself becoming more grounded in the body and you will be more soothed and in balance. You may notice a deeper connection with yourself and a wider perspective and perhaps a wiser action to follow. A shout out to Professor Paul Gilbert for this practice from his Compassion Focused Therapy and I can recommend his book wholeheartedly called “The Compassionate Mind.”
Step 3: A Kind Wish or Action
Offer yourself a kind wish or action each and every day . You can also offer yourself a kind wish for the moment if you notice yourself getting caught up with rumination and stress. A kind action can be anything from a soothing cup of tea in your favourite mug, a nice hot bath or treat yourself to your favourite food. A kind wish might be for more ease throughout the day or being more self-caring. A hand on your heart saying “This too will pass” can be a kind action to take. You might say to yourself “How can I best take care of myself right now?” or “What do I need for myself right now?”
Step 4: 3 Blessings
To re-dress the negative bias a lovely exercise before we go to sleep is to count three blessings. So reflect on three things that happened during the day that you are most happy about and why you believe they happened. I would encourage you to write them down perhaps in a special journal and reflect on why they have come into your life. The outcome from doing this exercise is astonishing. This is based on the amazing work from Martin Seligman who is the Godfather of Positive Psychology.
Step 5: Nourishing And Depleting
In the mindfulness based stress reduction programme we look at what nourishes us and what depletes us. So think about what nourishes you and lifts your mood, energizes you and makes you feel calm and centred? What increases your sense of being alive and present? For me it’s going for a walk, reading a novel and doing my dance class, and being with loved ones and friends. You may need to be creative with these during these times as I expect my dance class will be shut down soon so you will find me dancing at home. Also what depletes you? During this outbreak of coronavirus I have found that the news has been not only depleting me but also stressing me out, so I have been lowering my dosage of it and as a result felt much calmer and centred. So make a list in a typical day of what nourishes you and what depletes you and see how you can increase the nourishing ones and perhaps reduce the dosage of the depleting ones.
I am Diana Dawson, Founder of Working Career. As a Professional Career Coach, Career Psychologist, Career Counsellor, Career Consultant, Executive Coach and Wellbeing at Work Coach, I work with organisations and individuals to help manage their careers.
I am an Accredited Master Coach with the Association for Coaching, a Coaching Psychologist and Cognitive Behavioural Hypnotherapist with nearly 20 years of experience in the field.
I work with professional people from different sectors and backgrounds to cope and flourish at work. I also run Career Workshops and Wellbeing Workshops for organisations.
I can provide one-to-one career coaching in Edinburgh or zoom sessions worldwide. I can provide Career Workshops at your organisation or remotely. Find out more about me here