Ever find yourself feeling overwhelmed at work…perhaps while sitting at your desk checking multiple emails, or preparing for a meeting. Then the thought of what you need to do after work sneaks into your mind. Then you recall what you forgot to do yesterday…. I am told over and over again by individuals that sometimes feelings of anxiety “just sneaks up” and then they feel stuck as they are not sure what to do next. This uncertainty of what to do next creates a new flow of discomfort, perhaps irritation or frustration. This cycle can contribute to feelings of overwhelm and ultimately impacting your productivity.
Below I have a quick and discrete tip you can do whenever you feel you need to reduce your symptoms of overwhelm and/or anxiety. Give it a try and please let me know how it went.
First pay attention to your tongue and then push the tip of the tongue firmly against the top of your mouth (the gum area behind your two front teeth). Maintain this pressure for 1-2 minutes and then relax your tongue letting it relax at the bottom of your mouth. Repeat.
In especially anxious situations, breathe out through the nose in short, sharp exhales while maintaining the tongue pressure. Each time you exhale it will cause a reflexive inhale. This will reduce feelings of anxiety very quickly, so that you can focus on the task you need to do in your work day.
Sounds silly, strange, maybe unbelievable??? Well, the reason this works is that applying pressure with your tongue against this area activates nerves which are part of the “positivity circuit”. Our tongue is unique in that it is part of BOTH our involuntary central nervous system and voluntary nervous system. All this to say that even if we may hold stress in our tongue (which many of us do) we now know a way to intentionally relax it, which helps to reduce stress within our body.
Do you clench your jaw or perhaps grinned your teeth? Practicing this simple strategy turns off and directly counteracts the result of jaw clenching, which is part of the strong “negativity circuit” of anxiety and rumination.
Today on World Mental Health Awareness Day I wanted you give you a simple tip which in combination with other strategies could positively impact our emotional and mental health.
Adding practical, but effective wellness strategies such as tongue positioning to your mental toolkit could make a meaningful difference to your mood, your day and your overall wellness.
Try it today because Your Time is N.O.W.
