It is a very particular way of synchronizing the channels of smell, sight, hearing, taste, and touch with relaxing stimuli, as well as purifying, to calm our mind and harmonize the sound of our thoughts. It is a defensive strategy through which we stimulate our brain to bring it peace and well-being.
Sometimes the simplest actions are the ones that offer us the best results. We know that when it comes to managing stress we have at our disposal multiple theories, therapies, and perspectives with which to learn to prioritize or improve the focus of our thoughts. All of them are equally valid, but sometimes, the most basic strategies are the ones that help us the most and best at any given time.
How to use the 5 senses to overcome stress
1. Smell
The smell of freshly cut grass, the sea at sunset, the smell of the cake that our grandmother made, the petrichor of the wet earth, the smell of colored pencils when we went to school.. All of them are direct anchors to our past or towards a happy moment in our past if this is so, it is due to a fact that is as concrete as it is fascinating: smell often acts as a door to our emotional world.
Furthermore, our primary olfactory cortex is connected to the hippocampus and the amygdala, two brain structures closely related to emotions. Therefore, when it comes to managing stress better, something that has always been of great help is aromatherapy, coming into contact with certain relaxing fragrances.
2. Colors that relax
When it comes to using the 5 senses to overcome stress, we cannot underestimate the one we use the most: sight. Believe it or not, our environmental environment and lack of balance, as well as a disorder or the presence of certain dominant colors, can intensify feelings of stress and anxiety.
So for the sharp vision and to reduce any disorder of eyesight there is eye doctor in Torrance, CA so improve your vision and life to overcome the stress.
We must ensure that in our daily settings there is always some relaxing visual stimulus: that in which we rest our eyes every little time.
3. The taste to combat stress
It is quite possible that many of our readers think that few things can be more relaxing than satisfying our palate with a good cup of chocolate, or anything else that owes this valuable ingredient. Well, something important should be clarified: when it comes to reducing stress through taste, you have to savor, that is, eat slowly, salivate, enjoy without haste, and stop the clock…
Likewise, and before turning to sweets exclusively, there are other more suitable dietary options to treat stress:
4. The sound of harmony, the calm of silence
We live in a world collapsed by sounds of all kinds, sounds that often exceed the allowed decibels and that at the same time prevent us from “hearing” that which is so valuable and cathartic for our brain: silence.
When it comes to using the 5 senses to overcome stress we cannot neglect our hearing either. Thus, and to achieve that needed relaxation, we can choose two strategies. The first listen to music and songs that generate certain types of emotions, such as joy, nostalgia, motivation, a feeling of improvement…
The other strategy would be based on hearing soothing sounds, such as rain, whale singing, white noise, the wind in a forest, etc.
5. Touch, the sensations that make us feel alive
Our skin is a woven surface of thousands of receptors yearning to be stimulated. A caress, hot water, the sea breeze, clean sheets, the sensation of floating while swimming in a pool, a hug from a loved one wrapping us up to reach our soul … The human being needs contact, the skin craves to be stimulated in a way pleasant every day, and therefore, it is vital that we “gift” these experiences whenever we can.
Any lack, any lack of stimulation in our skin generates sensory hunger. We feel empty and the feeling of stress intensifies. However, something as basic as taking a relaxing shower or hugging our friends several times a day quenches many fears, tensions, and anxieties.