Short Term Mental Stress Techniques
What creates mental stress relief in the short term? Generally, some form of short-term mental stress technique which interrupts stress can be beneficial. The following mindfulness-based stress reduction tools can benefit highly sensitive people.
Ways to relieve stress, medication aside, generally fall in one of two categories: interrupt or release strategies. Interrupt mental stress relief strategies intervene in stressful thoughts or the negative energy in the thoughts to provide relief. They are often short-term ways to relieve stress but can be long-term strategies as well.
Interrupt Mental Stress Techniques
There are a wide variety of ways to reduce stress in the short term. The following are a variety of interrupt methods:
- Visualization: Visualization is a way to change what the brain is focusing on. Many people use it as a way to visualize their goals and dreams in order to manifest them since what we focus on drives what we actualize. However, visualization has other uses as well. One of the ways to relieve stress through visualization is to interrupt a worry or a negative memory. By visualizing a favorite place or perhaps friend or pet, a person not only interrupts the particular stress but also because the visualization is pleasurable will release endorphins into the body. Another one of the ways to relieve stress with visualization is to reframe an abusive childhood to interrupt the negative memories that may be reactivated repeatedly. Because HSPs have a difficult time releasing past hurts, this can be a useful strategy. It helps to have a tool like visualization when old hurts surface, that can easily interrupt the painful memory and create a new habit of visualization instead of reliving the memory of an old wound. Highly sensitive people can use creative visualization to imagine their perfect healthy self, thereby treating a current illness as a step on the path to health. Visualizing a healthy, stress-free self, will help the sensitive person choose the most positive thoughts, activities, and people to actualize that desired life.
- EFT: Emotional Freedom Technique is a method of tapping on acupuncture points in the body while thinking about a negative memory in order to release the negative energy associated with the memory. There have been many successes with EFT, although there have been some cases of extreme emotional abuse which have not responded as well. Some of the successes have been long term, and it can be a useful tool to releasing negative energy that may be recurring.
- Acupuncture and acupressure: Acupuncture and acupressure both treat blocked energy in the body. Acupuncture uses needles, requires precise placement of the needles, and a practitioner to administer the therapy. Acupressure does the same thing using hands and can be done by an individual themselves. A good manual can teach you how to do it. Both like EFT work on the various energy meridians of the body to release negative, stagnant energy. They are a popular way to treat pain, which HSPs frequently suffer from.
- Creative visualization is the technique of using your imagination to create what you want in your life. In creative visualization you use your imagination to create a clear image, idea, or feeling of something you wish to manifest. Then you continue to focus on the idea, feeling or picture regularly, giving it positive energy until it becomes objective reality… Your goal may be on any level – physical emotional, mental or spiritual. Shakti Gawain, Creative Visualization, Nataraj Publishing, 1995, p. 17-18.
Other Interrupt Mental Stress Techniques
Meditation is another of the useful interrupt mental stress techniques. There are many guided meditations that help achieve mental and emotional relief or well being that can help when stress has dug in its heels. Other ways to relieve stress include herbs and flower essence solutions and they are found in their Resources sections of the website.
