It cannot be ignored that nowadays we live in a world in which everything happens very fast. Everything is hyperconnected, and we want everything at the moment, without waiting and without time for calm. Thus, we spend a large part of our time doing things: pending tasks, watching TV or the radio, looking at the screen of our mobile…
Being aware of the context that surrounds us, we should reflect: is there any time of the day when it is quiet? Quiet, without talking to anyone, without looking at a screen… In short, alone, connected with oneself and in silence. Do we avoid these moments? Perhaps we have a certain fear of being alone with ourselves.
Is it necessary to take these breaks?
The answer is a resounding yes, because these pauses allow us to get away from the emptiness and find our reflective capacity. In fact, silence, or at least that state of relaxation and calmness, has the ability to calm the mind, increasing awareness and attention span.
Achieving this state of calm is not a simple task, but a complicated one. However, trying to do so on a daily basis can have benefits for mental health, especially for those with problems of anxiety, depression, insomnia…
Activation control techniques
There are a number of techniques that allow us to control our activation. Some of them are the following:
– Conscious abdominal breathing.
It consists mainly of sitting down, putting one hand on the chest and another on the abdomen and then breathe in gently through the nose for three or four seconds. The air should be kept in for two or three seconds, and then expelled slowly. The function is to voluntarily control breathing and slow down the respiratory pattern to recover the balance between oxygen and carbon dioxide, obtaining a state of relaxation contrary to anxiety of any kind.
– Deep muscle relaxation
This technique is based on learning to quickly discriminate the sensations of tension in the musculature. For this purpose, series of tension and relaxation are performed on the muscles. The person taking the medication should focus on the sensation he/she feels when tensing the muscle and the sensation he/she feels when releasing it.
– Mindfulness
This is a type of meditation and consists of the ability to pay attention in the present. This technique is based on the idea that the mind itself produces a large number of thoughts, although these are usually about the past, and only a small number of thoughts are focused on what is happening at that moment. Some techniques are the full observation (without judging) of thoughts, identifying emotions, visualization techniques and body awareness.
Mindfulness or progressive muscle relaxation require previous training and education, although there are other techniques such as abdominal breathing that can be done from the beginning.
It is likely that the first time these techniques are practiced the objective is not achieved, although this is normal. To be effective, it must be practiced in a calm state and be consistent, doing it every day for several minutes.