How to stop a meltdown
IF YOU are on the verge of a meltdown, you feel an impulsive urge to yell, scream, cry or begin to argue. But remember that every time you lose your cool, you are ultimately giving away your power. Here are some strategies to help you stay calm.
Step one: Give yourself a reality check. Watch out for the first signs of feeling overly anxious and take a pro- active approach to change your attitude at the first signs of feeling overwhelmed. To ensure you don’t exaggerate how badly the situation really is, focus on addressing the real problem rather than the dramatic version of it.
Step two: Excuse yourself from the situation. The more emotional you feel, the less rational you’ll think. Learn to recognise your personal warning signs of anger, such as shaking or feeling irritated, and remove yourself from the situation before you lose your cool.
Step three: Take deep breaths. Frustration and anger cause physical reactions within the body – an increased rate of breathing, an elevated heart rate. Shallow, upper chest breathing is part of the typical stress response. Taking slow, deep breaths can relax your muscles and decrease your physiological response, which in turn can decrease your emotional reactivity.
Step four: Re- calibrate and practise self- awareness. Whenever you feel off balance, observe yourself. Witness the drama surrounding you without engaging in it. Observe your state of overwhelm, let go, and then take necessary action from there. Take a bird’s eye view of the situation, which will create a clear path to resolving the problem.
Step five: Don’t flip out over things you can’t control. Trying to maintain complete control in everything that happens leads to increased anxiety. Efforts to manage your anxiety by trying to control everything in your environment will backfire. The more unsuccessful your attempts to control the situation are, the more anxious you’ll become.
Step six: Abandon negativity. Even when you can’t fix a problem, you can make choices to cope with life’s obstacles in a positive way. Negativity will not move you any closer to a solution. Instead, choose to actively solve your problems and work on improving your situation
When you decide that nothing has the power to control how you feel, you will experience empowerment.