I received a tweet this week that said, "I've been incredibly stressed lately. What can I do to stop?" It was in private message from someone who has Diabetes.
I put on my knowledge hat and started to share. This is what I said in a few tweet message streams.
" Several things. If you can, take time for yourself and listen to some soft music. Close your eyes and take about ten really deep breaths."
" The breathing exercise of breathing in deeply for 3 seconds holding for 6 seconds and releasing the breath slowly over 12 seconds helps me."
"I have the album that is tied to my videos, up on bandcamp for free...so go grab it. :-) there's no frequency stuff on it, just music"
" If none of that helps at all I'd suggest talking with your primary care doc and see if they can't hook you up with some antianxiety medicine"
" I hope this helps. :-)"
"
davidbrucedavis.bandcamp.com You put it in your cart and you do a 0 price on it and download it. If you have any problems with it, let me know."
I'll try to elaborate a little more on my fast tweets from above.
One thing that can really help you is to take some deep breaths. It can be enhanced by some really soft music. This helps your mind refocus away from the issue that is stressing you out. Doesn't matter what the music is. You can use what I have posted on my website or you can bring any number of CDs up on Spotify and listen to them. I have a playlist that I created on Spotify that you can click play on and start the music streaming. Start by closing your eyes while listening to the music and taking in a really deep breath and holding it for a couple of seconds and letting it out slowly. Do this ten times. I should help to calm you a bit. Focus on the breath while doing this. It will help you focus your mind on something that is not troubling you.
You can also keep your eyes open and do this while watching the videos I created. I split these up into 7 minute segments, so they are not to long and not too short. I think 7 minutes is a pretty descent time to get refocused and take your mind off of the present moment dilemma, anxiety, worry or stress. There are so many visualization videos on YouTube that can be used as well. Beautiful nature landscape photos in a slide show with soft music. Find what works for you. That is the key.
Secondly, you can do the 3/6/12 or 4/7/8 breathing exercises (also called the Relaxing Breath). The first number is the number of seconds you breathe in. The middle number is how long you hold it. The last number is how long you exhale. There are different methods for different practices. I use 3/6/12. Again, use what feels comfortable for you. After about 20 times of doing this exercise and focusing on breath, all my stress dissipates. It helps me to focus on the breath and do the counting, because it takes my mind off the issues at hand.
Thirdly, if there is no refocusing happening and you are constantly stressed, it really may be time to consult your primary care doctor. They can guide you to the right doctor who specializes in stress and anxiety issues. Some folks need medication to help bring them back into balance with themselves. Integrating some basic techniques above with treatment works wonders for some people that I know.
I hope that some of this information helps people find some peace. Especially those of us who are dealing with what can be a huge stress in our lives on a daily basis, like Diabetes. And please go download "Thought Vibration" for free from Bandcamp. The link is above and you just need to chose the option of paying 0$ when you are asked what you want to pay for the album. It will give you options on which format you would like to download and you can go from there.
Here is hoping that you have a stress free day.
Namaste,
Dave
If you want to do some further research, here are some links to some different techniques on for breathing and a few videos which cover techniques on YouTube. I only go over a bit of this, but the more research you can do into things that can help you contain stress and relax and enjoy the life that you are living, the better off you will be. I use a myriad of tools in my arsenal and they work for me. Sometimes I forget to use them, but I always carry them with me on my phone when I need a break.
Great Articles for Further Research
Dr. Andrew Weil shares techniques on breathing and stress relief.
The Help Guide has some excellent tips and techniques as well. There is a short video on their page about roadblocks to awareness of our emotions.
WebMD has a great article and some action steps that can be taken.
A nice article in Time magazine about stress relief and a 10 minute exercise that can be done.
A Harvard Health Publication on relaxation techniques and studies that are being done.
Breath Relaxation video. This one is really nice.
Interesting website name. Great breathing exercises listed for Anxiety and Stress
Another nice website with some tools and exercises
Another article from Real Simple magazine, with a corresponding video.
A great website to get some tools for relaxation
Great Music and Non-Music Videos for Visualization and Relaxation
From Relax Daily on YouTube. Michael writes some great relaxing background music that you can stream all day or purchase from his website. Check out some of his music and videos.
Here is a playlist from The Relax Channel. Hours of great stress reducing background music or music to meditate too.
From the Sleep Music Relax Zone channel on YouTube, here is some really pretty music. I think this might have some low binural beat tones embedded in it.
This one is a Zen visualization with no music, absolutely beautiful Zen style garden.
Tropical beach, only waves, no music and very peaceful. I want to go here.
Some very relaxing study music.
Absolutely Beautiful relaxing guitar by Pablo Arellano.
