An exercise
to reduce emotional discomfort
The following exercise can help you to relax, for example if events you heard about in the media are causing you distress. It can contribute to release some of your emotional tension, help you to calm down and regain clarity of mind.
For preparing the exercise find a quiet place and some undisturbed time on your own. Half an hour is sufficient.
Preparation
Remember when you learned about the bad news. Did you expect this to happen or were you surprised? Find the precise moment of surprise in your memory. Where were you? Were you seated or standing?
Now feel the shock in your body. Was it mostly in your breast? In your stomach, or in another place? If you feel the bodily reaction, you know that the shock has been registered by your organism, possibly keeping it in permanent tension.
Next we need a sentence that describes what happened in the moment of shock. Choose the sentence that fits best for your situation and write it down:
- This shock wants to protect me from a reality that I did not expect, that I cannot change and that I cannot handle.
- This shock I got due to the news wants to protect me from the possibility that <insert the name of a beloved person> might be in danger.
- This shock wants to protect me from < insert the first thought you had after the shock>.
After this preparation we now proceed to perform the exercise itself. Continue...