This 1 Scuba-Diving Technique Decreases Intense Emotions!
Never been scuba diving? No Problem! You can still reap the benefits from this skill.
I hope you know that my blog titles are indicative of the blog content. So…just hang on a moment before you find out how scuba diving can improve your mental health!
Imagine that the intensity of your emotions is always ranked somewhere along this emotional thermometer. 🌡
Let’s take anger. 😡Imagine the last time you were feeling 10/10 (aka, the MOST angry you have ever felt). Now imagine 5/10, reasonably angry, but not totally interfering.
When your emotions are intense- at an 8 , 9, or 10 your brain shuts off. You cannot actively engage in more effective problem-solving.
Imagine the last time your child was screaming at the top of their lungs- nothing you did worked, right? Or if it did, probably not as quickly as you would have liked?
Imagine the last time your emotions were an 8, 9, or 10. I know for me, I was feeling extremely overwhelmed last week; at that exact moment, it was almost like I was paralyzed. I knew what I wanted to do, but it was super hard to get off from the couch and be effective, like get back to work and walk my dog.
So are you ready for it?! Here’s how scuba diving comes in to help you out.
Brr 🥶 Are you cold just watching it? My husband tried this out and his heart rate lowered 30 points in 20 seconds! The full skill might be meant more for the adults. For younger children, you can make some adaptations to this skill, such as holding an ice cube, squeezing frozen oranges, or holding an ice pack while they simultaneously hold their breath.
Obviously this skill won’t solve your life problems (unfortunately), but it will help prevent you and your children from engaging in more destructive behaviors. This is the tool to reduce intensity of emotions to later engage in other problem-solving skills.
