Having a bad day, maybe even a bad week, or month, or year. Life is often compared to a roller coaster, a ride full of ups, down, twists and loops. Whether you are currently struggling with issues related to financial, relationship, work or school stress, physical or mental health challenges, grief or loss, or none of the above; you have most likely experienced them at some point in your life. Even positive events such as marriage, new job or career, and or retirement can cause stress. Someone once told me that life is the best teacher, giving you the test first then the lesson. No one is exempt from life challenges. When these challenges hit us, they often throw us off our game. We start to struggle with our emotions, increasing in intensity, are often uncomfortable, and cause us to react in ways that aren’t effective. Then that one person comes up to you and says, “just breath, you got this.” Sometimes just hearing this can send our blood to boil (figuratively). However, there is scientific evidence that backs this up. That is what I will share with you today, how breathing and positive affirmations can help us regulate our emotions and improve our response to life challenges.
Biologically humans are built for survival. We wouldn’t be here today if our ancestors didn’t survive some of the toughest challenges such as starvation, weather conditions, and large predators back when we lived in caves. In order for us to survive, humans were created with an automatic nervous system, a network of nerves that controls involuntary functions like heart rate and digestion. There are two parts to the automatic nervous system, the sympathetic and parasympathetic. The sympathetic is responsible for our “fight or flight” response, it prepares our body for physical activity. The parasympathetic is responsible for our “rest and digest” response, assisting us in relaxation and recovery. These two parts of the automatic nervous system work independently and in opposition of each other, they can’t work simultaneously.
When the sympathetic nervous system is operating, you will experience increased heart rate and breathing, increase blood pressure, slower digestion, and heightened senses, feeling the need to escape or defend. Someone coming around a blind corner that startles you, when a fire/smoke alarm goes off, or when an animal crosses your path while driving are just a few examples. When the parasympathetic nervous system is operating, you will experience slower heart rate and breathing, lower blood pressure, and an increase in digestion, feeling calmer and more relaxed. Our body is conserving energy. That feeling after eating thanksgiving dinner comes to mind. Factors that adversely impact the parasympathetic are anxious thoughts (perceived or imagined threats vs real physical threats), stress, sleep deprivation, food sensitives and trauma. Activities that activate the parasympathetic are deep breathing, spending time in nature, meditation, massage, yoga, tai chi, and playing with pets or children. Breathing is one thing that humans can do both voluntarily and involuntarily. In conclusion, taking deep breaths sends signals to your brain that you are safe by activating the parasympathetic nervous system. Once the parasympathetic is operating the sympathetic nervous system is disengaged, thus helping you to regulate your emotions more effectively. Just breath, you got this.
Now that we understand how breathing helps us. How do positive affirmations help improve our lives during challenging times? The power of thoughts. Henry Ford made the statement, “Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, your right.” This powerful statement gives us a glimpse into the power of thought and mindset. Understanding how our thoughts/beliefs can shape our reality and have a profound effect on our actions, ultimately our outcomes. Shawn Achor, a psychologist who studies and advocates for positive psychology, states that they are finding it’s, “not necessarily the reality that shapes us, but the lens through which our brain views the world shapes our reality.” Positive affirmations challenge our negative thinking, promoting our self-perceptions and developing a confident self-esteem. Basically, you are rewiring your brain to foster more positive thought patterns. By creating new neural pathways in the brain, you are teaching yourself to see life more optimistically. This includes when life challenges you.
The more you practice positive affirmations, the more that new neural pathway is used, the more likely it will stick. When your start believing what you are saying, the more likely you are to act in ways that align with those beliefs, leading to positive changes in behavior and outcomes. Making your mind your friend, you can shape your reality towards positivity. Self-fulfilling prophecy comes to mind. Here is a short story on the power of thoughts and human potential. In 1945 a Swedish runner, Gunder Hägg, set the record for the mile in a time of 4:01.4. Many other runners attempted and failed to break this record. People started to believe it couldn’t be done. Almost 10 years had passed when Roger Bannister, a British medical student and runner, broke the record on May 6th, 1954 with a time of 3:59.4. What people called a miraculous achievement. The next person to break the four-minute mile was an Australian runner John Landy with a time of 3:57.9, rounded up due to rules of the time, to 3:58. This happened on June 21, 1954, only 46 days after Roger Bannister. The two faced off in August of that same year and in what is now known as the miracle mile, where Bannister won by less than a second. Landy had been leading the entire rice, in the last stretch he glanced over his shoulder to see where Bannister was and in that instant Bannister passed him to victory. Both achieving the feet of running the mile under 4 minutes. When people believed the mile could not be run under 4 minutes, no one achieved it. However, something that was once deemed impossible, now became possible.
Erica Finney, LCSW
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