By Emma Wilkinson
We are living in a time where our sense of peace is threatened by uncertainty, stressors, fear of illness, fear of an unknown future, conflict, overstimulation, and worry. Attaining a semblance of peace within yourself can be difficult. An absence of internal peace can lead to increased stress and anxiety. A lack of peace that continues, being potentially chronic, may develop into other mental or physical illnesses. So how can peace be reclaimed in times of stress and uncertainty?
Here are 7 keys to help you regain your peace, keep your peace, lower your stress, and improve your whole well-being. Use the Reclaiming My Peace tool on the Resources page to help you put each of these keys into practice.
- Stop! Take a deep breath.
As corny as this sounds, the simple act of stopping – what you’re doing, thinking, or worrying about, and spending 5-10 minutes to breathe slowly and deeply, can give immediate relief, calm and peace to your mind, body, and soul. Adding slow breathing to your day brings your body back into equilibrium. It activates your parasympathetic nervous system to calm and rest, turning off the sympathetic nervous system of the ‘flight, fight, freeze, or appease state. Increasing slow breathing increases your ability to be calm.
- Throw out your Anchor.
At times when you’re feeling little or no peace, you may feel like you are on a boat, lost at sea. Use your anchor. Throw your anchor overboard to stop you from drifting, to bring you stability.
Anchors are metaphors for tools that help you bring a centredness and a grounding for you. What are your anchors? They can range from remembering your core values and beliefs to reintroducing routine habits of physical activity or using your agency with what you do and think.
- Name the peace stealers.
Acknowledging and defining exactly what is stealing your peace, empowers you with clarity, and to know what is specifically happening. Writing these down, even speaking these out can help you to fully understand and acknowledge exactly what or who is causing stress or anxiety.
- Release the fear and stress or feeling out of control.
This key is important for feeling, expelling, and releasing emotions connected with stress and anxiety. Without this step, these emotions can become toxic to your body, or you may resort to unhealthy maladaptive ways to cope.
A form of physical activity complements releasing your emotions. This can be as simple as a gentle walk in your neighbourhood, or as vigorous as a high-intensity workout. Regular moving your body relieves stress and releases wonderful endorphins that are ‘feel-good’ chemicals to your brain.
- There is always a solution. Always!
Brainstorm how you could resolve the reasons why you have little or no peace. Have fun thinking of ‘out of the box’ solutions, or fantasy ideas, before writing down practical and realistic solutions. Doing this opens your mind to creative solutions and helps to further express your emotions linked to those peace stealers.
- Choose one solution you have decided to act upon.
Tell a friend, family member, or someone you trust who can support your decision. Plan on how you will regain your peace with this one peacekeeper. Do this today! Be realistic, starting with one action step towards your solution that you can incorporate into your day, and build from there.
- Introduce a peacekeeping habit for each day.
This is where the real fun begins. This is the most empowering and life-giving key to this process. Introduce realistic daily peacekeeping habits, one at a time, forming a rhythm and routine of not only regaining peace but also maintaining and keeping your peace.
Remember, peace is available to you, every day, every time.