Go for the hill first ! and the hit the mountain !

Good morning or good night everybody ! I never know when you will read my messages !

Maybe some of you know already that I live in Rio de Janeiro since February 2010.

EVERYTHING is new; the language, the culture, interactions with people....

Anything undertaken is different

Surviving so many changes requires adaptation;

No chance, you have to go out of your comfort zone

When a change is felt as being worrying, fear and anxiety appear, which leads to a 'retraction';
Like the snail which goes into its shell for protection, to become smaller, to disappear;

Do you remember having been through such a situation ?
I do !

It is essential to recognize the signs your unconscious sends you. Your body can give you signs !
It can be a shorter, accelerated, jerky, difficult, superficial ... breath, or unusual movements of the body, the eyes which change directions very quickly, sweaty hands, a particular cough, a singular trick.... or so many other signs

Recognizing any change that occurs within us is the first step towards a better management of the state in which you are

Let me give you an example of a rather simple situation: I had to take the subway in Rio.

Here it is, with its look which reminds me of an insect's shell which would have resisted to everything since the time of dinosaurs ! What do you think !

There's been a first time for me in this underground;

Have you noticed that first times leave us with a strong impact ? This is another subject and I keep it for later  ;o)

Thus this first time had for me on that morning a dimension of discomfort. Probably for a bigger reason; but let's face it, bigger reason or not, I had to get over it; let's be practical !

Many very little novelties to face; here are a few of them

There are two entrances, which one should I take?

Once in the shell, where will I get the ticket ?

How can I ask that in Portuguese? (Language which I babble since a few months)

Will I take the right direction ?

What's the name of the station I have to stop to ?

When out, where will be the street I have to take ?

... I could continue like that for a long time;
I am just describing a daily situation which I would normally handle without a blink but which blocks me on that day
"Have I not travelled enough around the world, worked in quite difficult situations, have learned to face anxiety ? !  Why, oh why am I stuck now ? ?"  do i think then . . .
Sorry, that doesn't help ... Have to find another trick !

So, in a new situation creating negative stress, here is one of my 'recipes'

Any thought connected with the root of my discomfort I'll say
"I can recognise you and you know what ? I am not interested ! I'll go another way !" 
Sincerely, why  keeping them? They only bring me discomfort.

Then I close my eyes . . . (not when I am in a public place, I do not want to look too strange !) . . . 
I inhale slowly, then I exhale slowly, just a few times; 
That allows to slow down my cardiac rhythm, thus entail the slowing down of the thoughts, and the signs of panic decrease.

By the way, it is very useful to do those inspirations - expirations exercises regularly, as they not only calm the breath but also the progress of the thoughts

And then I cut !

I cut my scenario into small actions, as short as I choose them to be

The more the panic raises, the more the sequences should be short.

And my thought stay only with the action of the very moment; detailing the various aspects of every sequence, as much as my brain needs

Example with my trip in the underground

I take my bag. Details: There is a hole in my bag, how about buying some cotton and embroidering a flower ? What color for the flower ? Which shape could I choose, etc. etc.... Stop

I am going down the staircase. Stop

I am walkin in the street. Stop

By the way, I can look at what is in the stores. Stop
Hey, I really enjoy that !  No stop !   ;o)

Etc...  until I arrive where I want to be: that specific building in the center of Rio

All that is not about stopping the brain from unwanted thoughts coming in,
If you really try to stop them, you immediatelly focus on them and as such they gain more power; 
Changing the point of focus of the thoughts is major; you avoid that it returns as a boomerang, in the initial state of panic
Each of the little sequences created may not be highly intetesting but their job is to losen your focus and create space for your mind to wander on news paths !

Often the very beginning of the new scenario can be delicate to negotiate. It is usual, the machine has to be launched !

Every milestone reached, every micro action completed is a step forward to the final goal: arriving to your chosen destination, as serene as possible

    ... and without postponing or being in that panic mode !

        so breathe ! ! . . . . . and cut down ! !

I wish you a nice day filled with loads of little hills that will lead you to the top of the mountain !