How to stay calm in adverse situations?

The ability to remain calm under adverse conditions is a character trait which most of us lack but possible to cultivate with a conscious effort from our side. Sometimes we can be in a chaos concerning our relationships, career or finances but we keep pushing ourselves for the sake of our family or society or whatever reason.As a result, we end up being tired emotionally and physically. Stress makes us respond without reason as our brain freezes and cannot think aptly. What we should understand is that stress is short lived and the situation will definitely change but till the situation is favorable we should hold ourselves together in the best way possible.

2 things to remember to stay calm when you feel that rush inside your brain and feel like the limbs going numb are…

1. Take deep breaths.

Yes, that works. I know that when we are under stress our breath becomes quicker and shorter but we need to pause and consciously take long deep breaths. Consequently, allowing more oxygen to flow into our brain. Thus, sending a message to calm down and relax. The brain unlocks and activates, therefore facilitating us to think and carry out the next steps efficiently.

2. Do not worry about things that are NOT in our control.

Because its anyway not in our control. Simplest example, we have to reach the airport in an hour. Thus, we start almost an hour and a half early to be there before time. But as luck would have it, we get extra additional traffic (because somehow the traffic always knows we are in a hurry!!) and we have no control over it! The traffic will not clear if we worry, so no other option other than being calm and waiting for it to clear.

Simple ways to keep our mind calm

1. Regular exercise 

Does not mean you have to workout at a gym, even the freehand and simple daily exercises work like wonders for relaxing the mind and body. Exercise improves the body’s overall ability to respond to stress. In other words, it helps the body’s central and sympathetic nervous systems that simulates the body’s fight or flight response to communicate with one another. As a result, we need to be true to ourselves to spend at least 30 -45 mins everyday for us.

2. Yoga and Meditation

Yoga improves the quality of life by providing a healthy dose of self-kindness. You can take guidance from a Yoga teacher or watch the innumerable videos from YouTube and other social media sites. Do what is suitable for you and it makes a big difference. Meditation controls not only stress but it also increases awareness, clarity and regulates our behavior in day to day life making us more calm.

3. Spend time with nature

Nature is a natural and sincere healer. Just few moments with nature like gardening , watering the plants, observing birds ,animals and feeding them, sky watching – sunrise, sunset, changing colour of the sky (believe me when I say that God always paints it different every second), night sky (figuring out the zodiac patterns) and stars and who knows you might be lucky to spot a shooting star or a miracle.

4. Always remember -> Stay calm, every problem has a solution.

Just think this in mind and you will immediately feel better. Stress brings in worry ,anxiety, exhaustion etc. But if we can remind ourselves that not all problems can be solved in a jiffy and some will take time but it will definitely be resolved.

Calm mind is a blessing to have because it benefits us with a controlled behavior however demanding a situation might become. It helps us in taking right decisions and not landing us in more trouble. When the mind is disturbed, our thoughts are also disturbed so, wait for it to settle down, it might take some time but that is completely OK. As discussed above , we can independently train ourselves to be in peace and live in peace.

A calm mind plays a pivotal role in dealing with a difficult situation. Its an important aspect of our healthy being. Take care of your mind just as you would take care of your body. Just remember that we have no control over all situations in our life but we definitely have control over how we respond to it.