You can feel it creeping in—the emotional exhaustion that seeps in after a string of emotionally charged conversations or being “on” for an extended period.
You may feel it in the back of your shoulders or deep in your belly. Your limbs may feel heavy, and you get sleepy or foggy. However it manifests, these signs of emotional exhaustion can really sink your day.
Here’s a 5 min trick to recenter and revive:
- Step away from your desk, leave your phone behind, and find a spot to relax for a few minutes. Outside is preferable, but anywhere comfortable to sit uninterrupted will work. (I love plopping in the grass)
- Close your eyes and take three deep breaths. None of these silly shallow things – make them full belly breaths. In through your nose, count to 2, then out through your mouth. Make each breath slower than the last.
- With your eyes still closed, start by opening your ears. What do you hear around you? Find a sound and focus on it. Can you identify it? Move on to the next sound. The trick is to focus on one sound at a time and isolate it.
- Identify four more sounds, focusing on them until you can picture the creator of the sound in your mind and move on to the next one.
- Next, move on to feeling. Focus on your skin and the feelings around you. What do you feel? Identify it and focus on how it makes you feel: the sun on your skin, the breeze across your shoulders. What are you feeling?
- Now, what do you smell? Take a deep sniff and focus on the scents around you. Maybe it’s fresh-cut grass, perhaps it smells like rain, or maybe the restaurant down the road is cooking up something yummy. Focus on it and identify it.
- Finally, finish with two more deep, slow belly breaths. In through your nose, pause, out through your mouth.
- Open your eyes and blink a few times. Wiggle your fingers and toes and slowly wake up your body.
I hope that that 5 min break in your day spent focusing on all the things but the stress of your day helps dust off the haze and let the sun shine in again.
For those that prefer a guided option, I’ve included a guided audio file.