A Short Insight on Staying Calm

The Question was “How do I master the way you remain calm in any type of situation?

My answer is as follows:

This mostly boils down to your ability to control your emotions.

This is easier said than done of course, as humans are emotionally volatile by nature. Usually, when we get emotional, our rational fly’s out the window and this is precisely what causes us to lose control.

In order to maintain calm in a situation, your rational mind must be able to maintain control over your emotional responses.

There are a few ways you can learn to do this, including:

  1. Learning breath control — Breathing deeply helps your body determine that it isn’t in any immediate danger (this is what causes stress, anxiety, etc) and can be a great first step in mitigating your emotions as they rise up to overtake your rational mind.

  2. Intentional Exposure to Stressful Situations — Make yourself uncomfortable on purpose by doing something you wouldn’t normally do. Maybe you have social anxiety, so try pushing yourself to talk to a stranger, that sort of thing. This is a form of exposure therapy and can allow you to feel what triggers an overly emotional response within you, allowing you to become more aware of it before it’s too late.

  3. Finding an Outlet — Taking up practices like exercise and meditation are some of the best ways there are to gain better control of your mind and your emotions. Exercise is one of the absolute best things you can do for yourself both physically and mentally, while meditation gives you greater control over the thoughts that might lead you to an overly emotional response in the first place.

Staying calm is a skill that can be learned, but like any other skill, it takes practice.

Just keep in mind that we lose our calm when we, in some form of another, feel threatened.

Knowing this allows us to recognize the difference between a real threat and ones we construct in our heads (which is most of the time). Learning the difference is crucial to retaining control over your emotions and essential to staying calm in most situations.

I originally answered this question on quora. You can find me here.


Like what I write or want to work with me? Come say hello on: Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Snapchat | or Email me here: iamjustincscott@gmail.com

Sort:  

Hmmm... I've faced anxiety and post trauma phobias the past couple of year and I've tried the techniques. I am still trying to get a good breathing routine like you suggest, I do think advice n.3 is the best and most effective but n2... to me it doesn't work as well. I know that it is very valuable method but it got me panic attacks. Sports and art are te ultimate medicine.

I think it also depends on the individual, methods that might work best for some might not always work best for others. Regardless, glad to hear you're making progress : )

You made an amazing content, We sould connect and support each other by follow each other. I already upvoted you and following you, please think about that. My apologize if I sent this post to you already.Thanks and greeting from @chanthasam

Thanks for the response, I'll check your page out!

Yeah controlling your emotions is certainly the best way to approach any type of negative or chaotic moment.

The cool thing is that the more you practice it, the better you get at it.

Exactly this, thank you for your input!

Good point.
Remaining calm means good self-control.
Self-esteem is a part of it too, if you believe you can do it, so you will do it!
And education of course is important, important to educated yourself in what life means, how you react and so on.

Agreed on self esteem as well as education, especially education in fact. If we were to learn these principals at a young age, the world would be a much better place.

yes of course, they must be learned at a young age..but we can`t blame our parents for how they raise us. We must educate ourselfs from now on :)

Thank you for the wisdom! I really enjoy reading articles like these, they motivate myself to push my limits, and realize that I can do more when I'm in control.

You're very welcome, I'm happy to hear that you feel that way!

I have problems trying to stay calm and so far this gave me some peace of mind thanks hey .

You're welcome, I'm glad it could be of some benefit to you! Feel free to message me on discord if you have any desire to talk further, username is the same as my steemit account!

First of all, very well written article, short and sweet as well as to the point.

I agree with what your saying, but I also would like to add that I don't necessarily like the term "control" in some situations. If a close relative dies for example it is unnatural if you don't experience any "negative" emotions. "Controlling" in that context I would say is the wrong word, rather I would say that "tending" to your emotions would be a better word. Experiencing, allowing your emotions to be and run their course without adding fuel to the flame. Using techniques such as breathwork or meditation as you mention are perfect in that regard.

In a little bit of a rush but I hope you get what I'm trying to convey. That by using "control" as the term you frame your relationship to your emotions in a manner that might not always be beneficial or optimal.

Very good post brother, look forward to more 🙏🏼

I absolutely agree with this. We have emotions because they are meant to be felt, and sometimes they need to be worked through. Some situations are just too intense for our rational mind to overcome alone, and our emotions need to be let out in order to better deal with those circumstances.

thanks for the kind words my friend, and looking forward to more posts from you as well!

glad to connect 🙌🏼

It's hard not to react, even with increased awareness of yourself.

But over time, you can start to react less and notice a space between a stimulus and a response that starts to get bigger over time...eventually enough to where you consciously decide not to feed the emotion.

All of your suggestions are solid basis from which to start. Exercise is huge, exposure is as well. Thanks for sharing!

Glad you got value from it and your input is much appreciated, thanks for reading!

Thank you for the kind words : )

Yoga, i do this daily in the morning it makes your body flexible and helps in proper functioning of your body.
Anyway this might be offtopic but can you have a look at my post and suggest me some ideas i would be glad if you can check it out.

No problem! And yes, yoga is a great means of exercise and meditation. I've been meaning to get into it myself for a while now.