6 Ways to Reclaim Your Sanity

OMG! If it is not an email, a text or an ostensibly unending work week, it's traffic or other forms of hostility that drive us to the breaking point of aberration. With all the psychological warfare bombarding us on a daily basis, no wonder why we need antidepressants and sleeping aids to survive. We are enslaved to stress and chaos. Do we have anyone else to blame? Nope, nada and zip. We allowed ourselves to be subjected to the point of no return. No, we can't stop or calm the atmosphere in our lives 100 percent but we can manage our part in it. This can be done by taking a mini-break, living in the moment and refusing to lose your purpose. Here are six ways to reclaim your sanity for your today and for your tomorrow.

Learn to walk away.

Make time to walk away from the pressures and the stress. You need alone time and a chance to settle your mind as you can't fight battles every day and expect to be feeling energized. Find alone time to recharge by taking a walk, praying or being still. Take a few minutes and focus on your breath to calm the body down. See yourself letting go of the stress through exhalation. You can try connecting with nature or getting up 10 minutes earlier when the house is quiet and consider your blessings. There comes a time when you need to walk away from situations and from life.

Reframe your expectations.

We all have to deal with the unpleasant circumstances of life. What we need to do is shift thoughts towards a more positive frame of mind and take control of how we react. When we are dealing with the pressures of life, we don't need to add ridiculous expectations on ourselves. If there are high expectations, it puts you more at risk for disappointment if you fail to meet then. What happens is that people become perfectionists. “Unrealistic expectations are potentially damaging because they set us and others up for failure,” said Selena C. Snow, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist in Rockville, Md. When we or someone else naturally falls short, we draw false conclusions, feel negative feelings and act in negative ways, she said.

Pause the social media.

According to Civic Science, an estimated 9 percent of U.S. online consumers over the age of 13 admitted that they are addicted to their digital devices. We are completely losing our sanity to social media. "It is very easy to lose a sense of perspective when being immersed in social media and the break itself becomes a full-time activity," Mobicip.com reported. Try signing off for a weekend and enjoy a mental break. If you can think of it this way, you won't see it as a sacrifice. Create boundaries around your electronic life and on social media. Another idea is to disable the apps that you are using on your phone to avoid the temptation.

Set better boundaries.

Start to list your limits and be honest. Some people don't need to be told to back off, but there are those who you need to set boundaries with to preserve your sanity. This includes putting the breaks on friends, family, co-workers and others, who can be draining. "Boundaries aren’t just a sign of a healthy relationship; they’re a sign of self-respect. So give yourself permission to set boundaries and work to preserve them," Associate Editor at Psych Central Margarita Tartakovsky, M.S shared. Being overcommitted will make you feel robotic and emotionally drained. Anger could be building up over time due to commitments. Reduce stress in this area by cutting back unwanted and inefficient commitments.

Start to have more fun.

Start allowing yourself to laugh more and have fun. When is the last time that you had fun or even laughed? When was the last time that you forgot your cares and your responsibilities? You don't need to have money to have a lot of fun, although it would be nice! Find happiness in the small moments in life. It can be watching a comedy or laughing with friends. Another benefit of being more chill and laughing is that you release endorphins and this lowers blood pressure and it can protect the heart. Being serious all the time will make you miserable.

Tune things out.

If you are sensitive, it is harder to let things go when situations surface. This is where you need to retrain your thoughts and emotions. Practice tuning the negative chatter from others or from yourself by practicing meditation, prayer, listening to music or reading something that will distract you. Psychology Today explained that things don’t disappear on their own. "You need to make the commitment to let it go. If you don’t make this conscious choice up-front, you could end up self-sabotaging any effort to move on from this past hurt." Tuning things out is not easy and it will take a lot of practice. When it comes to keeping a sound mind, it is worth it.

You are the one who decides if you want to remain sane. Don't give away your power to anything or anyone. It impacts your health and your overall mental well-being. All of us need to set boundaries and take a stand against allowing the world to keep us in knots. You don't have to be the victim of life anymore.

Beliefnet.com