5 Calming Rituals For When Everything Feels Like Too Much, According To Intuitive Coach
Staying calm in chaos is possible.
Meruyert Gonullu | pexels A calming ritual can help when survival mode gets mixed with a constant drip of fear-driven media providing information that might be true, or might simply be an opinion. It's a perfect spiral into division and retreat in the cycle of churning fear, where everything feels like too much.
Mass media and social media can "unleash and intensify collective alarm," research from the International Journal of Cultural Studies showed. "Whether generating fear about social change, sharpening social distance, or offering new opportunities for vilifying outsiders, distorting communications, manipulating public opinion, and mobilizing embittered individuals, digital platforms and communications constitute significant targets, facilitators, and instruments of panic production." Yet, we were born into this world to learn and grow and to love together. Division was never the plan.
Here are five calming rituals for when everything feels like too much, according to an intuitive coach:
1. Take a break from internet news and social media for a month
During this 30-day ritual, remind yourself of what's true in your world. Do you have pets? Spend time enjoying them. Do you have hobbies that have been neglected? Spend a day or two exploring your area to see if some places and Meetups share this interest.
Get back out with people who share your soul passions. Seek out people who are connected to the earth — go hiking, bird watching, camping, or anything outdoors.
"Getting outside gives you exercise, and much-needed fresh air to expand and nourish your lungs," advised healer Cyndera Quackenbush. "It has been proven that, beyond physical health, walking and getting outside can serve as a natural antidepressant with no side effects, meaning it improves your emotional regulation and mood. When you spend more time in the great outdoors, you become more connected to yourself, your innermost thoughts, and your inner landscape. You may no longer feel consumed by a problem, but find a solution."
Walk beside still waters and rest in green pastures to reboot and reconnect with your passions.
2. Create a vision board
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On this vision board, there should be one word placed in the middle: Truth. As the year progresses, you will place images or phrases on this board to reflect the truth about your goals for your life. The truth about what you want to leave behind for others to learn or discover once you are no longer here. The truth about what your promise is to the world and how you will go about delivering that promise.
If you currently have no promise to the world, what about a promise to those you love? You can even make a vision board about what you want to do for yourself.
3. Attend a weekly social
Connect with others who believe the same truth about their journey here on earth. Make sure this experience brings you love and connection, and not fear or judgment. Take notes and journal your truth after each event. Listen to your heart when in these places. A study from the American Psychological Association (APA) showed that an increased sense of social connectedness was beneficial in reducing stress and anxiety.
4. Prioritize self-care
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Each day, remind yourself of what is true about you. Are you out of shape and would like to get into shape? If this is true, create a health plan and follow the steps to meet this truth head-on. Do you want to explore learning a new trade, or would you like to go back to school? Take the steps needed to explore these ideas.
Is it true that you have low self-esteem? Embrace this truth and take steps to surround yourself with helpful experiences and people who build you up in your truth of how beautiful you truly are. You will build confidence in yourself and feel grounded in something you know is true and real for you.
"Self-care tips aren't one size fits all. You can customize it to fit your needs. Start with small steps. Meaning, allow 10 minutes a day for your self-care plan. You will feel better almost immediately.
"Start by accessing your self-care plan," recommended therapist Lianne Avila. "Are you a busy mom? You may want to start with physical self-care, not that you aren't moving around all the time, taking care of the family. But you may enjoy yoga away from the family to help you feel energized. Are you retired? You may want to start with social self-care. It's important to safely stay connected to others."
Plan a visit to the beach or the mountains, both hold the energy of renewal and cleansing. Nature, nature, nature!
5. Purge people and activities that bring you doubt, confusion, and fear
As hard as it may be, if people are not on the same page as you and are feeding you a blur of "facts" and upcoming gloom, set boundaries. There seem to be hundreds of realities to choose from, but the only one that matters is the reality of being there for others, especially yourself and those under your care.
Setting boundaries, limiting contact, or even removing certain people from your life may become a necessity to finding your truth and remaining strong for one another.
You have the power to shift your energy. We have the power to change. It will come from within each of us as we discover what is true at the basic level of who we are as individuals.
We have everything we need to survive inside of us. Use your time as an opportunity to seek your truth, despite what the outside influences are telling you it is.
Jennifer Fields is an intuitive life coach whose life goal is to leave this earth knowing she left those in her path better having known her.
