1.    Are you sometimes afraid of change? You don’t even have to answer this, as we all are afraid of change. The biggest problem with this is that we unconsciously avoid big changes.

Do you want to know why?

Stick around and you will learn more about this topic. You will also learn about different types of resistance to change and how to detect the situations when you are actively resisting to change.

We will also give some nice advice about anger and how to control it.

2.    Did you ever think how your emotional life is very unstable? Did you find it too hard to resist to overreact or do you just remember some situations which might have ended better had you been more composed?

In this text, we’ll go over some of the best techniques for mood regulation. We’ll also give very imaginative representations of some mal adaptive emotional responses like stress, anxiety, fear, etc. and give you some real-life examples of people controlling and mastering these emotions.

But this is not where the good stuff ends. When bad things happen in your life, everything changes. For example, your sleep patterns are also under the great influence of adverse events in your life, and this only makes things worse for you.

This is why we will give you some very practical advice about getting better and higher quality sleep- not only will you be less tired during the day, but you will be using your time much better and more efficiently.

LET’S GET TO WORK!

The process of change- We’ve already said that before changing, one should be aware of the necessity to change in the first place. Only after gaining consciousness about this, will the person be able to at least try to change. We will call this one as having a problem with identifying problems.

For example, a lot of people resort to drinking when in stressful and emotionally challenging situations. They see their drinking as a pressure reliever, as something that even helps them. 

However, they don’t see that they refuse to become aware of having a problem- they label their bad habit (drinking) as a solution to some other difficulties.  This way, not only does her old problems stay unsolved, but their solving is made harder by this newly acquired drinking habit.

It is not easy to change. The bigger the change, the greater the psychological resistances.

However, there is a solution to this. Instead of trying to resolve all his difficulties, Mark approached his numerous problems in a different fashion. He first wrote them all down. His list looked a bit like this:

1.    Too little sleep

2.    Anxious in communication with people

3.    Not efficient at work

4.    Not getting promotion

5.    Not getting enough exercise

Instead of tackling them all at the same time, Mark chose to first find the most urgent problem. He opted for first tackling his sleep problem. Using one technique that will be described in a more elaborate fashion later in the text,

Mark stopped using devices like phones, computers, TVs for at least 2 hours before bed. After some time, he was satisfied with the quality of his sleep, so he decided to try and solve some other problem.

He opted for his work efficiency. Now, with a lot more energy, he found it much easier to be better at work. The promotion came soon after this.

Instead of tackling them all at the same time, Mark chose to first find the most urgent problem. He opted for first tackling his sleep problem. Using one technique that will be described in a more elaborate fashion later in the text, Mark stopped using devices like phones, computers, TVs for at least 2 hours before bed.

After some time, he was satisfied with the quality of his sleep, so he decided to try and solve some other problem. He opted for his work efficiency. Now, with a lot more energy, he found it much easier to be better at work. The promotion came soon after this.

Stress and anxiety- we won’t give you the usual lecture about these emotions, it would be too boring. In the end, when you are feeling these emotions, especially when they are very intense, you tend not to think very clearly.

This is why we give you now the list of some of the situations that most commonly cause stress and anxiety. By having these situations in mind, you could perhaps be able to accommodate to some of the future situations that you can see happening already:

1.    Chronic pain

2.    Physical injuries

3.    Illness

4.    Relationship problems

5.    Big losses- of loved ones, or big, unwanted changes like job loss or loss of role

Let’s see how some real-life situations. Anne broke her leg on skiing. It hurt a bit, sure, but after a few days in the hospital, everything returned to normal. Her work was such that a broken leg didn’t pose any problem, at least she thought.

However, Anne soon realized that not everything went on as usual. The days went by and it became even worse, she easily got into petty fights with her colleagues, and then reflected on these situations while at home. What she didn’t know is that she got used to being very agile and always on the move.

The broken leg most surely made this impossible, which is why she was constantly envious of the other people, including her coworkers. Also, it is not that easy to sleep with a broken leg, and we also have to remember those constant insatiable itches.

All this added up to Anne’s stress, so much so that she was constantly uptight and looking for someone to get into a fight with. Luckily, after one sleepless night, she realized the cause of her new troubles, so she pledged not to act as she did in the most recent days.

Anne tackled her problems in an indirect way. On the other hand, you can combat stress and anxiety in a more direct way, using some of the techniques from this list:

1.    Relaxing your muscles

2.    Breathing exercises

3.    Physical exercises

4.    Going to your safe space in imagination

5.    Meditation

Of course, you don’t have to use all of these techniques or all on the same occasion. However, using at least one of them in stressful situations will most surely help you.

This is what Anne did when she felt uptight on her work. First, she felt that, in these situations, her muscles are unusually stiff, so she proceeded to focus on completely relaxing her body. She just sat there, doing nothing,  breathing slowly and deeply.

She felt that, with every breath, tension leaves her body and her muscles getting more and more relaxed. After a few minutes of doing this, she was refreshed and calm again,  ready to tackle her work duties.

In other words, she employed muscle relaxation and breathing exercises very nicely. These exercises are very similar to the ancient meditation practice.

Of course, you don’t have to use all of these techniques or all on the same occasion. However, using at least one of them in stressful situations will most surely help you.

This is what Anne did when she felt uptight on her work. First, she felt that, in these situations, her muscles are unusually stiff, so she proceeded to focus on completely relaxing her body.

She just sat there, doing nothing,  breathing slowly and deeply. She felt that, with every breath, tension leaves her body and her muscles getting more and more relaxed. After a few minutes of doing this, she was refreshed and calm again,  ready to tackle her work duties.

In other words, she employed muscle relaxation and breathing exercises very nicely. These exercises are very similar to the ancient meditation practice.

But there are other ways to attain calmness and peace. It seems a bit paradoxical, but doing some physical exercise might actually help with this. This is because, after you finish with your training, your brain releases endorphins a substance that acts as a tranquilizer.

For example, even though Anne returned exhausted from work, she proceeded to walk outside a bit. This helped her as during the day, she mostly just sits, and now with the broken leg, she goes around even less. When she returned from her walk, those nice endorphins really helped her with the recent stress and uptightness.

Here we see how even a short walk can be very healthy, you don’t have to train hard as an athlete to get the endorphin response.

But there are other ways to attain calmness and peace. It seems a bit paradoxical, but doing some physical exercise might actually help with this. This is because, after you finish with your training, your brain releases endorphins a substance that acts as a tranquilizer.

For example, even though Anne returned exhausted from work, she proceeded to walk outside a bit. This helped her as during the day, she mostly just sits, and now with the broken leg, she goes around even less. When she returned from her walk, those nice endorphins really helped her with the recent stress and uptightness.

Here we see how even a short walk can be very healthy, you don’t have to train hard as an athlete to get the endorphin response.

Last but not least, whenever you find yourself so anxious that you cannot utter a word, you could try this simple variant of imaginative exercise- going to your safe space.

This is no joke, just as the former technique, it is based on neurology and cognitive sciences. It has been shown that your brain produces the same response when you see a particular thing, and when you imagine that same thing. So by imagining your safe spot when you see yourself getting too anxious, you actually transport yourself to that space.

Anne loved the vast beaches of California. One day, her coworker came by and started criticizing her about something that she knew wasn’t her fault. Instead of acting in defense, and starting a harsh debate, she chose to slowly close her eyes and imagine the vast, calm beaches of California, where she loved to play as a child.

Needless to say, when she reopened her eyes, she was almost that little girl that played in the sand, 20 years ago.

So, Just Don’t Quit and BOUNCE BACK from every situation. Because Remember.

WINNERS DON’T QUIT AND QUITTERS NEVER WIN.