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3 quick and easy exercises to give you some headspace
Ed_
Moderator Posts: 1,551 Extreme Poster
Sometimes when things are feeling really intense, having a few simple things to focus your mind can be a great way of calming things down. I thought it could be helpful for someone out there to throw a few ideas of things you can do when feeling stressed. Do feel free to add your own to the thread or tell us how you found these. Also important to note that these may not work for you, and that is okay, we are all different and life isn't a one-sized-fits-all approach 
Memory game
This is a quick one, open the spoiler to view a picture, spend a few minutes trying to memorise as many things from the picture as possible. Perhaps set yourself a timer and try just to focus on what you can see. After the time is up, close the spoiler and try writing down or saying out loud as many pictures that you can remember. If you want to mix it up a bit, set yourself a pattern or order to try and remember e.g. in rows, or going from top to bottom like a snake.
5.4.3.2.1. exercise
This is a game that focuses on your 5 senses (Taste, sight, hearing, touch, smell - you can modify these if you are blind or deaf). Working down from 5, focus on your surroundings and identify 5 things that you can see, then 4 things you can hear etc. I would recommend taste being your 1 thing as likely not many options depending on where you are
Category game
Think of a category that has lots of options for example names of albums if you are in to music. The more generic the better. Then have a go at listing as many things that fit into that category. It may be helpful to try and write these down with a pen or paper to aid your focus on the task.
As an extension of this, you could try and think of things that happen in some kind of order, for example I am quite into my sport, and so I will focus on who won grand slams in tennis each year going backwards and think about how far back I can go.
Let us know if you try any of these and whether they helped you take your mind of things or not. Remember, none of this is about perfection, so there is no stress in getting it "right". It is purely about allowing your brain to breathe
Memory game
This is a quick one, open the spoiler to view a picture, spend a few minutes trying to memorise as many things from the picture as possible. Perhaps set yourself a timer and try just to focus on what you can see. After the time is up, close the spoiler and try writing down or saying out loud as many pictures that you can remember. If you want to mix it up a bit, set yourself a pattern or order to try and remember e.g. in rows, or going from top to bottom like a snake.
5.4.3.2.1. exercise
This is a game that focuses on your 5 senses (Taste, sight, hearing, touch, smell - you can modify these if you are blind or deaf). Working down from 5, focus on your surroundings and identify 5 things that you can see, then 4 things you can hear etc. I would recommend taste being your 1 thing as likely not many options depending on where you are
Category game
Think of a category that has lots of options for example names of albums if you are in to music. The more generic the better. Then have a go at listing as many things that fit into that category. It may be helpful to try and write these down with a pen or paper to aid your focus on the task.
As an extension of this, you could try and think of things that happen in some kind of order, for example I am quite into my sport, and so I will focus on who won grand slams in tennis each year going backwards and think about how far back I can go.
Let us know if you try any of these and whether they helped you take your mind of things or not. Remember, none of this is about perfection, so there is no stress in getting it "right". It is purely about allowing your brain to breathe
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Thanks for sharing these ideas. I think it could help lots of us
Little Envelopes
Start by writing down some of the following on pieces of paper:
Get creative in decorating or doodling on these as well. Make sure you have enough space to cut each of these statements out.
You can pick up some little envelopes from most stationary shops (they are often called payslip or wage envelopes)
Put one of your quotes in each envelope and seal them. On the front, write things like:
Then make sure that you put these in a place where you know where they are and they are easy to get to. When you are having a bad day, you then have some small things that may put a smile on your face or give you the courage to do what you need to do to get support. This could also be a really lovely and cheap present idea to make for a friend
I'm a community moderator. I'm here to help guide discussions and make sure Community Guidelines are followed. I can't send DMs, but you can message @TheMix or email community@themix.org.uk with questions or concerns.
I'm a community moderator. I'm here to help guide discussions and make sure Community Guidelines are followed. I can't send DMs, but you can message @TheMix or email community@themix.org.uk with questions or concerns.