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Self-Therapy for Anxious New Mums

publication date: Jan 6, 2020
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author/source: Dr Ivy Ge

The Art of Good Enough by Dr Ivy GeWe’re all prone to and struggle with evil, energy-sucking emotions like anxiety, guilt, and shame. If you want a good life, you must keep those dark forces out of your head.  

Write away your anxieties

The simplest method of self-therapy against these emotions is writing about them on paper. Dr James W. Pennebaker, chair of the psychology department at the University of Texas, Austin, has conducted much of the research on the health benefits of expressive writing.  He discovered writing about emotions may ease stress and trauma. When participants write nonstop while exploring their innermost thoughts and feelings without inhibition, it helps people to organise thoughts and give meaning to a traumatic experience.

The process of writing may enable you to regulate your emotions and break free of the endless mental cycling typical of brooding or rumination.

When people open up privately about a traumatic event, they are more likely to talk with others about it — and this suggests that writing leads indirectly to reaching out for social support that can aid healing. The next time you find yourself nursing the old wounds, write down your feelings in a notebook. Don’t worry if you can only write words and phrases at first; no one will read it but you. Call it your journal of emotions.

Create a habit of describing why you feel that way on paper, and date your entries. After a couple of months, go back and read your earlier writing; you’ll see how far you’ve gone on the path of healing. Unleash your emotional burden on paper so you can live free.

Too many worries lead to anxiety 

Anxiety is the pressing desire to do better while believing you can’t.

Having too many worries leads to anxiety. The emotion hits like a tornado or earthquake we are always underprepared for. Here I’ll show you the temporary fix followed by a permanent solution.

The calming breath

Try this breathing exercise when you feel anxious. It takes less than a minute.

  1. Close your mouth and inhale quietly through your nose to a mental count of four.
  2. Hold your breath for a count of four.
  3. Exhale through your mouth, making a whoosh sound to a count of four.
  4. Hold your breath again for a count of four. This is one breath.
  5. Inhale and repeat the cycle three more times. 

Do you feel calmer now? Good. You have just completed the tactical breathing exercise designed for Navy SEALs, SWAT teams, and police officers to remain calm in high-stress situations. This technique breaks the moment of tension and allows oxygen to infuse your body to boost energy level.

A research study by Nobel prize-winning researcher Elizabeth Blackburn shows a regular routine of mindful breathing or meditation strengthens genetic expression and even slows the natural process of ageing.

The next time you feel overwhelmed by anxiety, try this breathing technique to regain control.

About Dr Ivy Ge

Dr Ivy GeFrom an aspiring actress to working for airline executives, to becoming a pharmacy professor and multi-genre author, Dr Ivy Ge has transformed her life while balancing her role a working mother and a Wife. www.ivyge.com

Her book,The Art of Good Enough: The Working Mom’s Guilt-Free Guide to Thriving While Being Perfectly Imperfect is available from Amazon.