Stress & Anxiety Relief: Quick Mini-Break

We’ve all been there. Time-traveling to a future over which we have no control. This imagined future and our worries about it take a negative toll on us, mentally and physically. Stress from imagined worries is no different from real-life stress.

The body’s immune system is compromised by a flood of stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol. Your thinking brain gets disconnected, much like having a computer virus, because during periods of stress, blood leaves the thinking brain’s frontal cortex and flows to the emotional core of the brain—the amygdala.

What can you do if your brain and body have been hijacked by stress and anxiety?

Well, research shows that mindfulness has the ability to calm an anxious and wandering mind. It does this by bringing that hijacked mind back to the present moment—where things are not so catastrophic as our imagination makes them out to be.

This is even true of those suffering from trauma thoughts, according to a study from the US Department of Veteran Affairs, which states, “The relationship between lifetime trauma burden and various mental health issues of relevance to U.S. veterans may be mediated by mindfulness or the ability to pay attention to the present moment.”

Use a Simple Reflective Mini-Break to Refocus Attention

If you keep thinking of stressful and worrisome things, that will become a habit or tendency. This is known as selective attention. So, for example, when you’re noticing that you’re future-tripping, you can use a simple reflective mini-break, as excerpted from my book Simply Mindful Reflectionsto bring your stress-hijacked brain back to the present moment.

Best of all, reflection is portable, so you can take a calming mini-break anywhere and anytime you need it! When you’re done, use the three follow-up questions to reflect more deeply on your experience of retraining your brain to transition from negative, stress-inducing thoughts into the present moment that you can touch and feel.

Be present with the next
small thing, and then the next.

Make the in-between time count.
All the little moments
of doing the dishes,
walking to the shower,
and hugging your partner.

This next simple moment
is where you get real-life traction.

Don’t get lost in the future.
You’ll get there anyway,
without even trying.

Reflect on this.

Follow-Up Questions:

1. What in-between moments do you often neglect, ignore or push away?
2. How could you be more present for the little in-between moments?
3. How can you relish and remember today’s ordinary moments?

Conclusion

By practicing the reflection above, you will retrain your brain and rewire it for present moment awareness. Each time you notice stress—whether you’re driving, in a stressful situation, or just imagining an anxious future scenario—remember this reflection to notice all the little in-between moments that are all around you. Keep practicing and you will soon make this reflective mini-break a healthy, normal way of protecting your brain from getting mentally hijacked.