What can the experience of being lost in the woods teach you about managing stress? Some years back I was lucky enough to attend the wilderness survival and tracking school founded by the legendary Tom Brown. A New Jersey native, Brown is a renowned teacher on the ways of the First People and has authored a number of books well worth exploring.
He and his instructors have been involved in numerous cases where someone has become lost in the wilderness. When tracking these missing individuals they prefer to have a detailed physical description of the person including height, weight, age, level of physical conditioning and whether they are right or left handed.
The reason for knowing the person's dominant side is really quite fascinating. It seems we all unconsciously tend to walk in a circle, leaning in the direction of the dominant side. This helps a skilled tracker to predict the direction a person will most likely head, especially when they are panicking. Most likely it will be a great big old circle.
Tragically, there have been people they have searched for who had been so frantic that the trackers were able to tell later on that the victim actually crossed a roadway that could have led to safety before they eventually they succumbed to exhaustion or hypothermia.
We also learned that if any of us realized we were lost, the best of course of action was to take at least 30 minutes to relax, take stock of the situation and to plot a course before going any further.
How does this apply to managing stress and anxiety? In that state there is a tendency to keep thinking in a circular fashion that gets us nowhere, we keep coming back to the same spot. You are probably familiar with this experience when you worry, especially when trying to fall asleep after a difficult day.
Mental flexibility and creative problem solving are diminished in a state of stress and fear. What we need is breathing room.
When you recognize that you are feeling lost and overwhelmed, you need to stop and relax completely, to enter a place of calm and stillness.
If you could use some help in getting out of stress and into serenity, please feel free to connect. The MindSpa Hypnotica Dream Experience is ideal for those times where you need to step back and rejuvenate.
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