If you’ve ever gone through a difficult phase in your life – and let’s be honest, who hasn’t – you know that fixating on problem perpetuates nervous worrying. For many people, seeing a therapist is a terrific way to relieve some of this tension, whether you’ve hit a rough patch or need to work through some issues from the past. While there was a stigma surrounding people who seek therapy for a long time, in the 21st century it has become so common that many people speak openly about it at work or in social settings without batting an eye. Without a doubt, this is a sign of progress and signals an era where people can feel less isolated and freer to speak their minds and be themselves.
At the same time, therapy is never the be-all, end-all solution to your problems, and your therapist will be the first person to tell you that. Sometimes, when you’re having a rough time, no matter how much you share or talk about it, at the end of the day you are alone with a problem that you can’t get off your mind. For this reason, you need to seek out activities that get you out of your head, that distract you and hit the reset button.
In a TED talk that has become incredibly popular, Guy Winch describes an indispensable tactic for good emotional hygiene. He says that if you just play a game on your phone for a bit, or do anything that requires your brains full concentration, then it derails the negative thinking that is basically creating following a set track in your mind, going around and around.
Think about it this way: if you convince yourself that you’re too sad to do anything, you’ll just sit around being sad. If you allow yourself to go out and play basketball with friends, sign up for a comedic improv class or go play music with pals, it will disrupt the self-fulfilling cycle of sadness. Obviously, you need to allow yourself to feel sad when something tragic has happened, but too large a portion of our society’s population is crippled by depression or anxiety that is not correlated to a reasonable cause.
Performing music, which can start with professional and fun music lessons at your local music shop, is perhaps the most helpful strategy if you’re inclined, since it requires you to coordinate your mind and body in a focused manner to create something beautiful. It also encourages you to get together with friends and have a few laughs. Often, for people who are chronically depressed or stressed, just being around other people doesn’t help, because they can still retreat into their own minds. When you work on a focused, fun artistic project with good people, it helps to flush the negative thought cycle from your brain.
Furthermore, singing stimulates deep breathing from the diaphragm, which has been proven to calm the nervous system and help with bodily tension and pain. Who knew that simply belting out Where the Streets Have No Names could change your life!
If you’re having trouble, therapy can be great, but consider supplementing it with an engaging hobby to nourish your brain and change it for the better!