The resulting side effects send me spiraling into such a state of disarray that I feel like I’m going to implode. I go through every worst-case scenario, starting from where I am currently and leaping like a time traveler to ten years in the future. I toss and turn at night, feeling my stress and anxiety spiral out of control. I convince myself that death is inevitable and I won’t last another month. Finally, the thoughts get so overwhelming that I have no choice but to do something about them.
For me, finding ways to stay in the present is critical to stopping the barrage of paranoia I get bombarded with. If I don’t, then I’m in the past, regretting decisions I made and wondering if I should have gone to college, why I didn't major in something more practical, and if any of the innumerable decisions I made in my life were the right ones. If I’m not contemplating my past then I am fretting about the future, worried that we will be living in a post-apocalyptic world where food and water are scarce, education is a thing of the past, and each day is a fight for survival.
Does that ever happen to you? Does your mind spin out of control at every piece of negativity on the news or in the media? If you may be able to relate, I would like to share with you three of the strategies I have learned over the years to reign in my racing thoughts and get them back on an even keel. And good news: there is no formal meditation involved.
Let me just preface these tips by saying that you should keep your phone out of sight while doing these to prevent further distractions.
The One to Rule Them All -You guessed it - Write
One of the things I do is write the thoughts I am having down on paper, either loose-leaf or in a journal (you can also use a laptop but beware of those pesky distractions). I call this form of writing a brain dump which I have written about here. Writing helps us figure out what our thoughts mean and why they happen. It helps us make sense of our thoughts and helps us to see if there is any meaning or purpose to them. Seeing the physical words or allowing them to stream from our bodies can help alleviate the anxious feelings inside. Sometimes I hold onto the words on the page and reread them so I can keep myself anchored and sometimes I tear the sheet of paper up and throw it away as a symbol of letting the thoughts go.
Keep up with an Attitude of Gratitude
Another strategy I have done to tame the rogue thoughts and to pull myself back down to earth is to stop and think about what I am grateful for, which you can read here. Gratitude keeps us in the present and roots our minds to the here and now so it doesn’t get so far ahead of itself that it thinks of the worst-case scenario. I’m a worrier by nature (I come by it honestly. I have a whole family of worry warts) and when I am alone with my thoughts and worry, my anxiety kicks in and I’m in for a few nights of restless sleep. If you can relate, I suggest taking a few deep breaths in and out and then writing down or say out loud everything you are grateful for, big, small, or in between, nothing is off limits. Focusing on what you have now can combat the “what if” thoughts of your mind and tether you to something real.
Keep Your Feet on the Ground
A third way I stay in the present is to literally get grounded, or more specifically, put my feet on solid ground and either stand or sit and feel the dirt and grass under my body. I take a few minutes to notice my surroundings, hear the sounds encompassing me, see the tree’s leaves rustling, the squirrels searching for food, birds flitting from one branch to the next, and to smell the dampness after a rain, or the dry crispiness of the leaves. I take deep inhales to slow my racing thoughts. Something about the solidity of the earth, its stability, is comforting and predictable. The earth has been our source of life for thousands of years, much longer than our phones and televisions. It makes sense that peace comes from the earth and not from our technology.
These things help me when my mind takes off on its own like a wily kite at the beach on a windy day. I will admit that they are not permanent fixes. I still have monkey mind, but they do help in the moment and the more practice you get from them, the more effective they will be. Maybe you have your own ways to cope. Everyone is different and will deal with life’s mysteries in a variety of ways. Do some research, do some experimenting. Find what keeps your feet, and mind, safely on the ground.
