Reduce Stress with the 5-Second Rule

For many, the holidays are as much a time of stress as they are a time of celebration, and that stress can cause anxiety that robs you of living in the present moment. For example, you could get a peppermint mocha as a special holiday treat on the way to work, but if the entire time you are drinking it, you are worried about that last gift you need to get, you won't be able to enjoy that moment. By using the Five Second Rule, you can focus on positive moments in your day and reduce stress in the long term!

How to practice the 5-second rule in 3 easy steps

1. Use Your senses to experience the moment

Take a moment to focus on how each of your senses feels in the moment you are in. In the case of the peppermint mocha, focus on what it smells like. Can you smell the peppermint? How does the cup feel in your hands? Is it warm? As you take a sip of the coffee, focus on how it tastes. By focusing on each of your senses, you can fully experience the moment you are having.

2. Practice Deep Breathing

After you focus on each of your senses, take a moment to take a deep breath in and out. Then, inhale through your nose to the count of four, hold that breath in your lungs to the count of seven, and then exhale through your mouth to the count of eight.

3. Affirm to yourself that This is a Good Moment

As you breathe, repeat to yourself in your head, "This is a good moment." By affirming your feelings to yourself, you make the moment more focused on the positive feelings in your head. In addition, this affirmation helps focus your mind on how you are feeling good in this moment rather than your brain concentrating on other things that might increase your stress levels.

When you practice the Five Second Rule, you are not only temporarily reducing stress, but your brain begins to develop new pathways that will help reduce stress over time. For example, when you take time to focus on a joyous moment, your brain releases dopamine and begins to build neuron pathways that will make you more optimistic. The more you practice the five-second rule, the more your brain creates these pathways, and the more content you will feel!

There are many reasons to be stressed through the holidays, and another way to help reduce that stress is by talking to someone. Alluvion Health offers Behavioral Health services with trained specialists who can help you work through coping strategies for stress through one-on-one appointments and group therapies. To learn more about Alluvion Health's behavioral health services, visit www.alluvionhealth.org/services/behavioral.

Julie Trosper is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor at Alluvion Health.  She finds it an honor to be a part of a patient's life, being a part of their healing process, and watching her clients heal and change.