Session Five: On Arousal Reduction
Prepared by Nicole Carter, MSW, RSW
Please do not copy or distribute this material without permission.
“Wherever you go, there you are.”
— Jon Kabat-Zinn
Consciously Calming the Body can Calm our Mind and Physiology
When we feel low, we often ruminate about the past, and when we feel anxious, we often generate worst-case scenarios about the future. This can leave little space to purposefully bring about a calmness in our body, or experience the pleasant things all around us in any given present moment.
Being mindful means to be aware of everything around us in any present moment with a sense of acceptance, without judging, striving, or resisting (wishing for things to be different than they are right now). In a society where many believe in valuing product over process, doing over being, and status over wellbeing, it can be especially difficult to stay anchored in the present moment. While mindfulness isn’t for everyone, staying open to some of its techniques can help reduce our suffering in the face of daily stressors or challenges. Intentionally calming the body using breathing and other mind-body techniques can actually quiet the activation of our sympathetic nervous system and help give our parasympathetic nervous system a boost.
Suffering = Pain x Resistance
Painful and uncomfortable events are an inevitable part of life. Some argue that our own responses to these painful events are what causes our suffering, rather than the painful event itself. In other words, the more we wish for things to be different than they are, the more we personally suffer. This idea comes from the equation, suffering = pain x resistance, which argues that suffering increases if we believe that the pain should not exist. Practicing the acceptance of painful events, which are inevitable in life, can possibly help us suffer less. Responding to painful events with resistance or wilfulness, or wishing for things to be different than they are, might actually increase the level of our suffering.
Common Relaxation Tools to Help Reduce Arousal and Calm the Mind
Diaphragmatic Breathing
When you look at a baby breathing, their stomachs typically rise and fall with each breath. As we get older, our breath tends to move up in the body into the chest, creating shallower breathing patterns. When we’re anxious, this is especially true - we tend to take shorter, quicker, shallower breaths, and shorter exhales. An extreme example of this can be hyperventilation. When you breathe diaphragmatically, filling the lower belly with air slowly upon your inhale, it stimulates the “vagus nerve,” a nerve that some argue helps stimulate our parasympathetic nervous system (the relaxation system at play all over our body).
Self-help Exercises
Five-minute daily relaxation. Choose one mind-body skill from this session to practice once per day for five minutes. Journal how you feel before, during, and after engaging in the technique, noting any reflections about your experience.
Gratitude journaling. Gratitude can help cultivate a sense of mindfulness. Consider starting a gratitude journal where you write down three things you feel grateful for every day. Or, download the app Gratitude: Personal Growth and Affirmations Journal.
One mindful activity daily. Choose one activity that you engage in every day mindlessly (like brushing your teeth, eating a meal, walking to work or school, or showering). Purposely engage in this activity mindfully, taking note of your thoughts, sensations, the temperature of the water, the taste of the toothpaste, and so on. This can be one small way of cultivating a sense of mindfulness, instead of living all day on autopilot, thinking about the next thing on our to-do list.
The last time I flew to California we had unexpected flight delays, which is understandably disappointing (especially with a four-month-old in tow!) I noticed the difference in responses among the passengers around us - some up at the counter, red-faced and visibly angry, trying to find a way around the delay (resistance). Others happily sat back, watching a show on their iPad or reading a book. Which passengers do you think were suffering more in that scenario?
How to breathe diaphragmatically:
To find your diaphragm, make a ‘hissing’ sound with your hand resting on your belly - you should be able to feel it contracting. To practice breathing diaphragmatically, breathe in deeply for four counts, expanding your diaphragm and lower belly as you inhale. Slowly exhale, releasing all of the air in your stomach, for four counts. For deeper relaxation, elongate your exhale beyond the length of your inhale. This sends your brain the message that there is no threat present and therefore no need for more oxygen to prepare for fight/flight.
Box Breathing
Box breathing is similar to diaphragmatic breathing, but it encourages two extra steps. It has been said that actors, singers, U.S. Navy Seals, and athletes utilize this technique as a quick, grounding method to reduce arousal.
How to box breathe:
To box breathe, breathe in for four counts, hold your breath for four counts, breathe out for four counts, and hold the state of depleted air for four counts.
Using Imagery: Taking a Vacation in Your Mind
If you were asked to bring to mind the experience of eating sour or tangy food, such as sucking on a juicy lemon or eating salt & vinegar chips, you would probably begin to notice sensations in your mouth developing. This illustrates the powerful effect of what we imagine and think about on our body and bodily sensations.
Guided imagery is a means to calm yourself, change your mood, or take a vacation in your mind. The most important part of imagery work is to use all of your senses when imagining so that you trick your brain into thinking you are really in the place you are imagining. Through brain scanning, researchers have found that this exercise can actually activate the visual cortex, tricking your body into believing that you are actually there and eliciting congruent feelings and sensations. Patient health outcomes are also higher when using guided imagery.
Taking yourself somewhere safe and pleasant in your mind can be especially suited for managing the stress around the global pandemic, since we can’t travel or visit many places that usually bring us joy, relaxation, and happiness.
How to Use Imagery:
The following script was borrowed from the developers of Koru Mindfulness, an evidence-based mindfulness meditation program for emerging adults, and changed slightly to fit this program.
Allow yourself to sit back and relax… see that your arms and legs are in a position that feels right for you. And… slowly and gently close your eyes. [Pause]. Allow your attention to move to your breathing. Let your breathing become even and comfortable. Breathing is one of the most powerful conscious influences you have on your nervous system. [Pause]. Now I invite you to see yourself in a very special place… it could be a real place – a place you may actually have been – a beautiful spot in nature or a comforting place in your own home. Your special place may be imaginary – a place in fairy tales – indoor or outdoor – it doesn’t matter where it is. Should more than one place come to mind, allow yourself to stay with one of them. [Pause]. The only thing that matters is that it is a place in which you are completely comfortable and safe… appreciate this scene with all of your senses…. hear the sounds….. smell the aromas… feel the air as it caresses your skin… experience the ground securely under you – touch and feel the whole environment that you are in. [Pause]. Notice what you are wearing. Notice what you have on your feet. What time of year is it? What time of day? How old are you? Are you alone or with another person or people? Notice the colours that surround you. What is the temperature? Is it warm? Is it cold? Notice the qualities of the place that make it safe and comfortable. [Pause]. Look around you to see if there is anything else that would make this place safer for you… perhaps something that you need to remove from the place or something you need to bring in…. and then notice how your body feels in this place…. Take some time to enjoy this feeling of safety in your special place….[Pause]. Thank yourself for taking this time for yourself and perhaps promising yourself that you can visit this place or another place on your own whenever you need to. [Pause]. And when you are ready, at your own pace, let your breathing deepen… very gradually let the awareness of your body against the chair or mat return…. Bring yourself back slowly and comfortably… when you are ready, gently open your eyes.
Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR)
Some anxiety can create a feeling of being keyed up, on edge, or tense, and can even be associated with muscle tension and pain – specifically in our shoulders, neck, and head. PMR is a technique that moves through each of our body’s muscle groups, vacillating between tensing and relaxing as you move down (or up) your body. This technique rests on the assumption that we cannot feel tension and relaxation at the same time. If we learn how to relax the body, our tension will be eased.
How to Use PMR:
It is important to try to only tense and relax the muscle group you are focusing on, one at a time. Move through each of the following muscle groups, one at a time, tensing and relaxing only that muscle group for ten counts each (tense for 10 counts, relax for ten counts).
Foot (curl your toes downward)
Lower leg and foot (tighten your calf muscle by pulling toes towards you)
Entire leg (squeeze thigh muscles while doing above)
(Repeat on other side of body)Hand (clench your fist)
Entire right arm (tighten your biceps by drawing your forearm up towards your shoulder and “make a muscle”, while clenching fist)
(Repeat on other side of body)Buttocks (tighten by pulling your buttocks together)
Stomach (suck your stomach in)
Chest (tighten by taking a deep breath)
Neck and shoulders (raise your shoulders up to touch your ears)
Mouth (open your mouth wide enough to stretch the hinges of your jaw)
Eyes (clench your eyelids tightly shut)
Forehead (raise your eyebrows as far as you can)
Effective Distraction Techniques
Below are several ways we can skillfully distract our mind from engaging in unhelpful obsessing, worrying, or rumination. While avoidance tends to worsen our anxiety symptoms (what we resist, persists), skillful distraction can be a helpful tool in reducing distress.
Singing. This one might sound silly at first, but occupying space in our articulatory loop can reduce metacognition, worry, and rumination. If you find yourself worrying, obsessing, or ruminating about something, start singing in your head in different voices, pitches, or accents – it’s been shown to cultivate detachment from the narratives of our worries and ruminations. In addition, consider singing the bothersome thought in a funny voice – it can add humour and create distance between the thought and the meaning our brain likes to try to attach to the thoughts.
Building a house out of food items. Imagine building a house from scratch out of food items – a house or building in your neighbourhood, an old home you used to live in, or an imaginary house. Think critically about what item you would use for each inch of the home: The doorknob, the front door, the doorbell, the door frame, the bricks or siding, and so on.
Palace guard. Imagine that you’re a palace guard for a day and as such, are unable to move. What do you notice go by you throughout the day?
Scripting beyond the end of a book or TV series. Imagine in detail what all of the different characters get up to after the novel or series is over.
5 things. Find five things in the room that you can see, five things that you can hear, and five things that you can feel.
Circle or square game. Focus on finding as many circular or square items in the room you’re in.