Find stress relief with these science-based strategies
THERE is a saying in the Balkans, where I was born and raised, that loosely translates to: “There is nothing worse than finally seeing the light, only to be plunged again into darkness”. As a psychologist, I have observed my patients’ extraordinary levels of stress and anxiety start to ease, only to be replaced by anger, disappointment and despair as coronavirus cases have resurged and the promise of the pandemic’s end has become more elusive.
The widespread return to in-person school and the uneven return to offices are further contributing to the sense of being pushed to the limit. This has led many of my patients to ask what they can do in the moment when they feel frazzled, overwhelmed, panicked or tunnel-visioned.
Although tried-and-true self-help strategies such as exercise, good sleep, socialising, mindfulness, positive reframing and self-compassion are still the best prescription for lowering stress overall, sometimes a practical solution that can provide immediate relief is what’s needed.
Here are some outside-the-box but science-based strategies that can help us calm down quickly, so we can keep functioning and doing what needs to be done.
Spur your mammalian diving reflex
One of the most effective stress resets involves submerging your face in ice-cold water while holding your breath. This activates the diving reflex, which slows the heart rate and redirects blood away from the periphery of the body, toward the heart and other vital organs. These physiological changes have been shown to decrease anxiety.
If a bowl or a bucket with icy water is not at your disposal, you can press ice packs against your eyes, upper cheeks and temples while leaning over and holding your breath.
“Stay like this as long as you can tolerate it. We typically recommend 15 to 30 seconds, although I’ve observed the effect take hold much faster,” said Jenny Taitz, a clinical psychologist in Beverly Hills, California and the author of End Emotional Eating.
Sheri Van Dijk, a psychotherapist in Newmarket, Ontario, and the author of Calming the Emotional Storm, warns that people with low blood pressure, heart problems or eating disorders should get clearance from their doctor before attempting this strategy.
Distract yourself with strong sensations or mental games
When we are very stressed or anxious, our attention narrows and only focuses on the negatives. If you are having a hard time objectively looking at a situation and making decisions, or if you feel mentally stuck or paralysed, a quick distraction can let you reset.
Although repeatedly avoiding your negative feelings and escaping through Netflix, video games or alcohol can lead to more distress in the long run, occasionally distracting yourself by using strong sensory input or engaging in mental games can offer a respite.
“This gives you a chance to take a psychological break, widen the lens to see the big picture and gain courage for the next step,” said Kelly Koerner, clinical psychologist and author of Doing Dialectical Behaviour Therapy: A Practical Guide.
Chew on a hot pepper, listen to loud music, hold ice cubes in your hands or smell a pungent cheese to briefly shift your attention away from stress. Alternatively, “make an alphabetical list of car models, flowers, colours, or create a mental top 10 list of your favourite movies, novels or places,” Taitz said.
“One of my favourite tips is to suck on a lemon, or imagine doing it. You’ll start to salivate, engaging the parasympathetic nervous system, which leads to relaxation,” Van Dijk said.
Look at fractal shapes in nature or art
Nature has long been associated with relaxation, but research has shown that art and computer images that mimic certain natural patterns can have a similar effect. Fractals, shapes that repeat on finer and finer scales, are often found in nature. (Consider chambered nautilus shells, snowflakes, cones, tree branches or leaf veins.) They seem particularly pleasing to the human eye, and looking at them has been found to reduce physical signs of acute stress.
Branka Spehar, a psychology professor at the University of New South Wales in Australia, and her collaborators found that Jackson Pollock’s iconic paintings are also fractals. “This helps explain the immense popularity of these and similar art and architecture over the years. Humans prefer lines that are neither straight nor smooth, with a moderate level of complexity,” she said.
Our affinity for fractals probably came through evolution, because there are no perfect shapes or straight lines in the natural world.
“Everything you see in nature has some imperfection,” Spehar said. “And a dose of imperfection is calming, like in Japanese wabi-sabi”, the aesthetic and worldview that emphasises the acceptance of imperfection and impermanence.
Whenever possible, spend time in nature to reduce stress. Short of that, mimic natural effects by looking at perfectly imperfect fractals. As singersongwriter Leonard Cohen put it: “There is a crack, a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.”
Speak to yourself in the third person
In the middle of an emotional storm, we often become fused with the catastrophising, critical or hopeless voice in our head. Everything appears bad, now and in the future. The more we try to think our way out of it, the more we get mired in the quicksand.
To stop the spiral, change how you talk to yourself. “When you use third-person pronouns and your name to refer to yourself, you zoom out and get some distance from the current situation,” said Ethan Kross, a professor of psychology and author of Chatter: The Voice in Our Head, Why It Matters, and How to Harness It.
“Your perspective shifts from being overwhelmed to seeing the problem as a challenge, from ‘I can’t’ to ‘I can’.” Chew gum
The earliest study examining the calming effect of chewing gum, published in the journal Science in 1939, reported beneficial effects on muscle tension associated with stress. More recently, research has found that chewing gum can reduce anxiety, stress and cortisol while increasing alertness.
Even though a review of studies linking gum-chewing and lowered stress showed inconsistent effects, you have nothing to lose by engaging in this easy and even fun activity.
Make yourself yawn
Research led by Andrew Gallup, associate professor of psychology at SUNY Polytechnic Institute, suggests that yawning has a brain-cooling function in vertebrates, including humans.
“Brain temperature rises during times of stress and anxiety,” Gallup said. “And yawning naturally occurs before and during stressful situations, promoting relaxation and better cognitive functioning. It has nothing to do with boredom.”
Although there is no experimental evidence that cooling the brain by inducing yawning – by, for example, watching videos of people yawning – results in stress reduction, Gallup believes the effect is likely and would be consistent with the existing findings. For now, yawn away. Who knows? Perhaps you'll trigger yawns in others and reduce their stress, too. |