Your body can predict when you’re going to lose it

When I feel stressed or anxious, it feels like there’s a metal cuff on the back of my neck. When I am scared, my fingertips go numb. When I’m excited, I feel a “spark” in my chest. 

What about you? When you feel happy, where do you feel that, in your body? Do your shoulders relax? Does your head feel light? 

Does sadness feel like pain behind your eyes? A heaviness in your chest? 

We have this incredible, magic gift from our bodies, which we often ignore. If you tune into it, you will be able decode how you’re feeling, and why. And here’s why that matters. 

Let’s say you lose your patience and yell at your child (or spouse or co-worker). You don’t want to be this way, you promised yourself you’d be more patient. You don’t understand why you can’t change this behavior. 

Before you yell at your child, you have a feeling. 

Let’s say that feeling is overwhelming. 

That feeling is caused by a thought. 

Let’s say that thought is “I have a million things to do today and no one is helping me.” 

The thought causes the feeling and the feeling causes the action of yelling. The problem is, the thought and feeling all happen so fast you don’t notice them. But, if you can “catch” them, you can prevent the yelling. 

This is where your body’s clues come in. Let’s say when you feel overwhelmed, you get a dull pain in your temples. 

For example: 

You feel the pain in your temple. 

You notice it. 

You say to yourself “Oh! I’m feeling overwhelmed, what thought did I just have that made me feel that way?” 

Instead of missing the subconscious thought, you can catch it. Ask yourself what thought caused that feeling. You then realize that you thought “I have a million things to do today and no one is helping me.” 

At that point, you can question if that thought is true, and even pick a new thought, such as “I’ll do as much as I can today” or “I don’t expect myself to do all of that today”. 

A new thought will create a different feeling. For example “I don’t expect myself to do all of that today” makes me feel empowered instead of overwhelmed. The action I take while feeling empowered is not snapping at my kids. I might instead simply remind them to put their dishes in the dishwasher. 

You can start practicing this today! Tune into your body, and notice what sensations you feel. Pause and tune into the feeling that is attached with that sensation. Once you make that connection, you can begin the process of “catching” feelings and thoughts.