How do we stop worrying?
Proposal:
As people, we worry constantly about all different types of things: about the way people are going to perceive us, about our weight, about our job, we worry about our kids, whether or not we're going to be able to make our next rent or mortgage payment. And oftentimes this stuff carries a lot of emotional baggage that sometimes we just don't know how to get rid of. So, how do we stop worrying?
Be mindful of your thinking. Our thoughts are not facts, they are just stories that we tell ourselves.
Control your symptoms. Find out what symptoms you have when it comes to worrying- fast heartbeat, sweaty palms, shaking, feeling hot, whatever it is. When you notice that your symptoms are appearing, try to defuse your story.
Name your story. When you start worrying, notice that it’s just a story that you are telling yourself and name it. Naming your story takes its power away. This will help you dissociate yourself from your thoughts and realize that they are not facts
Understand your emotions. The RULER method might help you here. R-recognize emotions in yourself and others , U-understand the cause and the consequences of emotions, L-label your emotions, E-express them accordingly and R-regulate your emotions.
Check your battery, check your energy level, your mental energy. Be okay with communicating about your battery with others- your family, your friends or your partner. And come up with a plan to restart it whenever you need to.
Find your restart button, what gets you to a more positive state. Whether it’s writing down your feelings and your thoughts, taking a walk outside, exercise, painting, smile. If you force yourself to smile for 30 seconds, you can trick your brain into believing that you are experiencing positive emotions.
Recognize your go-tos, both on a negative and on a positive level. When you start to feel out of balance, notice which one you tend to go to and find ways to pull yourself out of that if you need to.
Realize that your ideal-self does not exist.
Stop comparing yourself with others and stop judging.
Impact:
None of us are perfect, we all have our worries. But we are not alone, someone out there is feeling the same way, emotions that we feel are the same. We may not be in the same situation, but our emotions are the same. So, reach out to somebody, blow off some steam, break that cycle.
We also need to break the stigma around mental health and seeing a psychologist. We can always use new ways to look at our mental well-being, especially the worrying aspect of it.
Co-creator passion: R U OK?
R U OK? is an Australian non-profit suicide prevention organisation. It revolves around the slogan "R U OK?" (are you okay?), and advocates for people to have conversations with others. Their goal is to inspire and empower everyone to meaningfully connect with people around them and start a conversation with anyone who may be struggling with life, to connect with people who have emotional insecurity, to address social isolation and promote community cohesiveness.
Invention of the week: Mini forests are tiny forests that are based on the Miyawaki method, the work of Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki. This approach prioritizes the natural development of forests using native species.They help bring back biodiversity and help climate change. Miyawaki forests can grow into mature ecosystems in just 20 years - astonishingly fast. Mini forests can be as small as tennis courts and they plant 3 different types of plants within 1 to 3 meter radius to be able to improve biodiversity. This can help bring back plants and animals back to the area, help pollinate crops, reduce carbon footprint. From an Ideaprov perspective, these could be built around factories and industrial areas to help reduce noise and improve air quality.
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