قم بتحميل هذا المقال بالعربية (PDF)*This article in ArabicSinging and playing a wind instrument: According to Porges (2017) long exhalations calm down the Vagus nerve, which is the main nerve that regulates our autonomous body functions, such as heart rate, blood pressure etc. Whenever we sing, or play a wind instrument (like a flute), we do it while exhaling for a long time.
It works even better if we sing in a group or play in an orchestra, because it gives us a feeling to be connected to other people. This is soothing as such.
Writing in a diary: Writing down your experiences, thoughts and feelings in a diary has many advantages, too:
· It helps with gaining cognitive control over intense feelings, thus helping us to eventually dissolve them gradually.
· It helps us to understand the connection between troubling situations and negative feelings (such as anger and anxiety) better.
· Thus, it empowers us in solving problems, to take more effective action.
· Sometimes we ruminate over our troublesome experiences, to the point that we cannot sleep, and replay the same sequences over and over again. If we write them down, we structure them and keep a safe record of them, which we can pick up at any time when we are awake, and our brain functions better.
Regular time and space to worry: In order not to be overwhelmed by your tendency to worry all the time, it is often helpful to allocate a certain time and a certain place when/where you can safely allow yourself to pursue your worries. Make sure that you are undisturbed and comfortable during this worry-time, and use a diary. Often people choose their comfortable worry-corner or worry-chair.