Touch.
Most of us take our sense of touch for granted. Your hands for example, an appendage you use on a daily basis to conduct your life — to cook, clean, work, show affection, play, text, channel surf, eat and more — are often not give a second thought.
Sure, you could summon a feeling of gratitude for your hands or sense of touch in the moment that could result in shifting your stress response. But today, I am going to share less cognitive ways to use your hands and sense of touch to calm yourself when you are activated in a stress response.
As mentioned in Part 1, your stress response changes how your body operates, moving to a protective and reactive state. According to Diane Musho Hamilton in an article, titled “Calming Your Brain During Conflict” published on Havard Business Review:
The active amygdala also immediately shuts down the neural pathway to our prefrontal cortex so we can become disoriented in a heated conversation. Complex decision-making disappears, as does our access to multiple perspectives. As our attention narrows, we find ourselves trapped in the one perspective that makes us feel the most safe: “I’m right and you’re wrong,” even though we ordinarily see more perspectives.
Three Ways to Use Touch to Shift Your Stress
You can use your hands or sense of touch in these three ways to help yourself bring your pre-frontal cortex or “thinking brain” back online.
The first approach is to simply add task-oriented movement. By adding movement that requires concentration you force the pre-frontal cortex back online. This can look like throwing and catching a ball, balancing something on your fingers or maybe even playing with a fidget. Keep engaging until you feel a shift.
The next approach would be to give yourself a “self-hug.” This a powerful tool to deal with any intense emotion, including stress. I learned it from Dr. Peter Levine, the founder or Somatic Experiencing Therapy. Simply place your right hand under your armpit and wrap your left hand around your right shoulder. You can close your eyes or drop your gaze and breathe. Stay here until you feel a shift.
The third approach is to use the Havening Technique™. Havening, the transitive verb of the word haven, means to put into a safe place. The technique involves using the sensory input of soothing touch to alter thought, mood, and behavior. This 7-minute Self-Havening practice supports calm and wellness.
With any of these tools you may notice a spontaneous shift in your nervous system that could come in the form of a deep breath, yawn, sigh or a ettling. Which one will you try on for size?
