Is your head constantly churning with stuff that isn’t serving you?
Are you constantly worried about one thing or another?
Are your emotions like a never ending roller coaster? One minute you are down and under, drowning in sorrow. The next minute you are on top of the world and can cut someone’s head off?
Does it feel like it’s never going to get better?
Try these three things that have shown to be proven ways to bring more calm and peace to the chaos of your life and your mind.
Practice Radical Acceptance
Acceptance of the state of your life might seem counterintuitive, however, I promise you, the first step to creating inner calm is through acceptance.
Have you heard of the saying what you resist, persists?
Well that’s exactly the same concept here. When you accept your situation for what it is, all of a sudden your mind is able to thing of solutions.
It might not be solution that you were thinking of, however, it will decrease your suffering for sure.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) skills teaches Radical Acceptance as one of the strategies for dealing with high stress situations.
Practice Mindfulness
Being in the here and now in a non-judgmental way has a profound way to decrease your suffering.
Mindfulness is not just about sitting like an Indian or Chinese monk. Mindfulness is about a moment to moment awareness about what’s happening now. That means, bringing attention to the mundane things that are happening in your life.
Are you washing dishes? Can you feel the soap? Can you notice the shape of the dishes?
Are you in the shower? Do you notice the temperature of the water? Do you notice the strength of the water on your body?
Are you driving? Can you name the streets you have passed? Did you notice how many stop signs there are? Did you notice the person walking and what they were wearing? Do you notice the driver’s license plate in front of you?
You get the point.
Are you awake.
Know Your Values
I’m serious. Do you know what your values are?
When was the last time you thought about the most important things in your life and are you really prioritizing them?
In your day to day actions, if you were to compare what you are doing to your values, are you living them and honoring them?
Also have you thought about those values that may no longer serve you? They are no longer who you want to be? Did you want fame without being conscious of it? Did you think money was the source of all happiness?
Name your top 3 values and if you can’t name them, it’s time to do some homework.
In DBT Skills, we talk about values and we use them as strategies to improve our relationships.
Are you going to join me in learning DBT Skills and make your life more at peace?
To your success,
Musarat Yusufali LCSW
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