Reduce Fear and Anger for Stress Relief
How is it possibly December already? This year has been quite a ride. With so much uncertainty, and so much poloarization in the world around us, it's easy to live in a place of constant fear and anger. I know I sure struggle with it. But then I collect myself and I stop for a moment. I take a breath, and I pull myself into the present moment. I look around and realize that it is December the month of “Joy to the World” and “Peace on Earth” , the month of giving and celebrating and spending time with those you love. The holiday season starts every year with my personal favorite, Thanksgiving. Thanks and giving. Gratititude. And when I put myself into a state of gratitude and shift my focus to all the things in my life that I have to be thankful for, everything changes.
Do you realize that it is actually impossible to be in a state of fear and gratitude or anger and gratitude at the same time? It then stands to reason that an easy way to stop being so fearful and angry is to start shifting your thoughts and focus to everything in your life that you have to be grateful for. As Tony Robbins says, "what's wrong is always available, but so is what's right." You might be thinking great, Brooke, easy for you to say, but how do I actually shift my state to gratitude?
There are two quick and simple activities I practice daily in order to keep my perspective on gratitude instead of fear and anger. Here's the first. Shortly after I get up in the morning, I do breathing exercises and focus on all the blessings in my life and all the things I have to be grateful for. I literally do a mental check list in my mind. Sometimes I say them out loud. It goes something like this...."I am so grateful for my body, for my health, that I woke up, and for the breath in my lungs. I am so grateful for my husband and my kids and their health. I'm thankful for my work and my patients, my dogs, and the amazing book I am reading, and what I am learning. I'm so grateful for my house, and clean water, and healthy food to eat. Etc, etc.
Then, later in the morning, after my work out and getting the kids to school, I sit down with a hot cup of tea and my journal and take a few minutes to list 5 things I am grateful for. Often these are little things, like, "my new boots", or "a hot cup of green tea". You get the idea. These two simple habits have made a huge difference in my emotional health. Plus a gratitude practice can have a big impact on your physical health as well.
Stress is detrimental to our physical health. When we are in a state of fear or anger, we are also in a state of stress. Stress is the most common cause of sickness in this country and it weakens your immune system. Therefore, when we decrease fear and anger by practicing gratitude, we simultaneously reduce stress which can lead to improvement in our overall health.