3 things to do to calm down when you are freaking out

We all feel overwhelmed from time to time, from a mild discomfort to a flat out panic attack. 

It happens.

The thing is to not lose your head, the worst thing that can happen is not the actual event or circumstance, it is the event AND losing your head.

So here are three things we have discovered work well when we are freaking out (being entrepreneurs, that happens more often than you think :) ). 

Teach these to your team and see what happens.

1. Breathe with Soft belly

We breathe wrong. Have you seen the way a baby breathes when they are sleeping? Lying on their back their tummy inflates like a balloon, the shoulders barely moving. 

We breathe from our shoulders, partly because we live in a culture that values a flat stomach and six pack abs, more than being calm. So we are, or most of us, sucking in our stomachs all the time. This tension places your body in a fight or flight mode. So just by pulling in your stomach you are already telling your body to be anxious.

So do this, when you feel overwhelmed, sit down, feet on the floor, hands in your lap, close your eyes if you can, and let your tummy out, keeping your belly soft Breathe slowly in through your nose into your belly, hold for 2 seconds, and breathe out through your mouth. Shoulder and chest kept still.

Do this for a few breathes, or 5 minutes if have the time. You will feel instantly relaxed. 
 more on soft belly breathing here

2. Activate all five senses.

Here is a simple trick when you feel you are losing control, activate all five senses. Sight, smell, hearing, touch, taste.

1. Find something to focus on in your enviroment, the plant in the office
2. Listen to a specific sound, the birds, the traffic.
3. Touch a texture close to you, the wall, the carpet, your scarf.
4. Smell, see what you can smell, try and find a scent in the room, cleaning products, a perfume, the pencil on your desk.
5. Taste something if you can, a snack, coffee, tea, or just lick your eraser.

Activating the five senses grounds you, and will help to keep your mind from spiraling too much out of control thinking up crazy scenarios.

3. Go for a walk

Steve Jobs famously went for long walk, had some of his best ideas while walking too.

Walking does two things, first it removes your from the enviroment causing panic, giving you a break, so get outside if you can.. just don't run away!

Walking gets your blood pumping, and gets oxygen to your brain, helping you to think more clearly, and more creatively, and possibly see things in proper perspective.


These three things have worked for us, and we teach them to teams all the time, so next time you start freaking out, give one a try.

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by Pierre du Plessis, Pierre wanders the world, and returns to tell. He is a trend analyst, and regulary speaks at conferences and inspiration sessions

​www.pierreduplessis.co.za