Stress

NAME IT, TAME IT

A quick strategy to deal with stress!

We all face it: that moment of stress in a meeting, during a conversation, or in a social situation. Right? Just the other day I got a text message from a friend inviting me to go to an event I didn’t want to go to. My nature feels the need to please and I could feel a familiar knot down deep in my stomach. How will I respond? Something this simple and I felt stress! No doubt you’ve experienced this, perhaps even worse!

So, here’s a tip on how to deal with it: “Name it, Tame it.” Yep, this is the starting point from which you can deal with the situation in a calm and collected way. Psychologist Dr. Dan Siegel coined the term “Name It, Tame it” and what it comes down to is simply recognizing what you’re feeling…tight throat, tension in the shoulders, dull headache, or knot in the stomach (like I felt). Then, simply name it. “I’m feeling angry.” “I’m feeling frustrated.” “I’m feeling sad.” “I’m feeling overwhelmed.” You get the idea. Stay with the feeling for a few moments. The more you do this, the easier you’ll recognize what’s going on.

Naming our emotions is a savvy little brain hack. Without diving in too deep, it simply allows the emotionally driven part of our brain (limbic system) to give the intellectual part (prefrontal cortex) a chance to sort the situation out. Now, we can make a more thoughtful and well-measured response without firing off in a reckless and even destructive way. I hope you can see how this might come in handy!

Remember “Name It, Tame It” to bring more peace to the stressful situations we all face!