The Energy Equation

Reducing eustress

This is a good exercise for dealing with eustress (which can also work with anxiety). We have more control over our automatic nervous system than we think and by using this principle we are going to slow down our heart rate back to normal. The trick is to talk to your body. That’s right: talk to your body. Tell it to calm down. After a while it will respond. You don’t have to verbally talk, just mentally talk.

1. Start off by breathing deeply into the abdomen, holding the breath for a couple of seconds on the inhale and exhale. When holding your breath, allow your body to relax.
2. Now tell your body to calm down and imagine that it does. Put your hand on your heart and say, ‘It is OK, you can calm down now.’
3. Imagine your heart rate ...