Turning Off Stress

Did you ever feel like you have too many thoughts that don’t let you relax or even sleep? I heard about this problem from several friends as well as patients. More often than not, these thoughts tend to be dark. They seem to be fueled by our fears and anxieties, but their cause can also be stress or simply too much work. While there are many possible ways to get rid of these thoughts, I highly recommend using your body, in other words, exercises. But before you decide to start jogging, let’s look at it a little bit deeper.

When you feel stressed or have an emotional state that you wish you didn’t have, try clenching and unclenching your hands. For our purpose here, it won’t matter how fast you do it, how tight you make your fists, or whether you fully extend your fingers. What’s crucial is how long you do it without interruptions. During the first, say, 100 repetitions, your emotional and mental states will remain unchanged, but once your hands and forearms begin to get tired, they will attract your mind’s attention. At this stage, your thoughts will struggle to continue racing, and occasional thoughts will be about the strange and seemingly pointless exercise that you’re doing with your hands. Your mind will make you stop doing the clenches-unclenches, and your hands will become progressively weaker. If you don’t stop, however, and continue bending and then straightening your fingers, you will soon reach a threshold during which your hands your hands get unbearably tired and your thoughts will slow down. Just moments later—provided that you don’t interrupt your exercise—you’ll break into sweat, and your mental and emotional states become clear.