pathsofstoicism on Substack

Instead of trying to endure those symptoms by directing your attention elsewhere, hit pause to reconnect with how you feel on the inside. One of the simplest strategies to regulate your emotions is to stimulate your body’s parasympathetic nervous system, which acts like a brake on the stress response. All you need to do is move your body.

(1) thinking ahead, or viewing the situation as just one moment on a larger, longer timeline and being able to identify it as just one point to get past in order to reach a better future point; (2) being specific and setting specific goals, or defining your end point as discretely as possible and pooling your attentional resources as specifically a

Sometimes it’s difficult to defuse Threat Lockdown, particularly if you’ve been in it for a long time. Because protective mode is physiological, it’s often best to use physiological means to calm yourself down. Exercise, sleep, and meditation can help calm your mind by metabolizing or counteracting the stress hormones that have been flooding your b

Meditation is a valuable tool for hitting the reset button. You may also try vigorous exercise, a scenic adventure, or immersing yourself in an unrelated creative endeavor.