1. Stop your racing heart using just physiology
Sometimes
a racing heart is wonderful – when it is about feeling alive, being
on top of our game, falling in love etc...
But...
- What if you are in a social or business situation? You're surrounded by strangers and you want to express an opinion, make a suggestion or just pass a casual remark but inside you can feel your heart starting to beat so loudly that you know that you will sound neither cool, assertive nor confident?
- Or what if you've got an important interview and you've done all your research and got the perfect responses prepared but in the heat of the moment the answers are drowned out by the sound of your heartbeat?
- And how about when your new partner invites you to meet his family or friends and you want to appear calm and natural but again you can't control your heartbeat?
Here
are three tips how to use your own physiology to get out of the captivity
of your own physiology.
Why
do I care?
Because
things like that can still come up for me from time to time. Some
sort of old social anxiety. So I thought that maybe some of you will
also find this information useful. It can also work very well in
dealing with the rapid onset of anxiety or depression.
Interestingly enough, the
techniques below were once medical recommendations for sufferers of
arrhythmia before the appropriate medications were invented. So you
could call them
'pre-revolutionary prescriptions'.
They
are all about stimulating the Vagus nerve which travels throughout
the whole body and is a major part of the self-healing/relaxation
mode. And they address the few zones that are accessible for Vagus
nerve stimulation – the zones behind the eyes, the tongue and
central core.
The
techniques below will reduce your heart rate quite quickly so,
please, make sure that you are sitting when you do this in order not
to fall from a sudden drop..
- To address
the central core - Take a slow deep breath in your abdomen.
Diaphragmatic breathing. Extending inhalation and exhalation
stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, and the Vagus nerve is a big part of this system. This has the overall effect of slowing the heart rate,
helping the body relax and move into self-repair mode.
- To address
the tongue - Immerse your tongue in saliva while breathing
deeply through your nose. To promote salivation, imagine that you
are eating a lemon. If that does not work, then simply take a sip of
water and hold it in your mouth while breathing deeply through the
nose. Or chew on something – the best option is a chewing gum if
you have it with you. This is especially effective because it
combines two techniques – breathing and tongue immersion.
- To address the zone behind the eyes - Firmly press against your eyeballs and hold for a while. Not easy to do in social setting, but it is very effective if your heart starts to run at home or any other safe place
So
learn something and try out what appeals to you most. There are also
simple techniques to combat tears or inappropriate laughter which
I'll fill you in on next time!
