Emotional drama, tackling long to-do lists, or continually fixated to social media can leave many of us feeling overwhelmed in today's fast-paced, overstimulating world. Our senses become overloaded, and our emotions grow anxious under the pressure of others’ expectations, possible criticism, or dreading the proverbial “other shoe to drop.” Consequently, we are more inclined to feel exhausted during the day, but restless and unable to fall asleep at night. Because our senses are bombarded by all of this stimulation, it triggers our stress response into perceiving that we are under threat. Feeling more wired than tired becomes too challenging and inhibits shifting into a relaxed state to eventually unwind at night.

Fortunately, we are not powerless. We can reclaim sovereignty over our nervous system through the therapeutic technique of mindfulness—the non-judgmental awareness of our feelings, thoughts and actions. With mindful-awareness, we can discover how our mental tension is created and manifested in both the physical and emotional body. Tools such as breathing practices, tense and release exercises, and recognizing unhealthy thought patterns can be used to reduce our stress and release built-up tension.

For example, when our attention is immersed in either meeting a deadline or reacting to another person’s dramatic outbursts, we might unconsciously hold our breath and tense our muscles. This reaction signals to our nervous system that we are under threat. But with mindful-awareness, we can observe this reaction. That is the first step towards breaking the pattern.

Please take a moment and watch the videos offered under Debra Myers on the Provider’s page and learn several simple ways to begin releasing tension and unhealthy patterns by practicing mindful-awareness.