Ways to calm down if communication is causing you stress

Communication does not always bring pleasure. Even when we are having a conversation with good friends, we feel mentally stressed and tired. What can we say about situations when you unwittingly participate in a conflict or observe someone’s drama? If you often feel that communication brings stress, take note of these tips on how to calm down and recover.

10 ways to calm down if communication is causing you stress

1. Determine when your nervous system needs to calm down

Always pay attention to your feelings to prevent communication from becoming debilitating. If you notice increased symptoms such as racing thoughts, feeling exhausted, nervousness, a desire to be alone, or trouble sleeping, this may signal that you need to calm down. But what if these feelings overtook you at the most crucial moment, and you can’t give up the conversation? At least take a little break.

You can tell the other person that you must leave for a while to make a phone call or go to the bar under the pretext that you want to bring a snack to distract yourself from the conversation and exhale again. And then, when the communication ends, do what we describe in the next paragraph.

2. Come home and spend time alone

Take a walk in nature, read an inspiring book, or get creative. Spending time alone will help you restore your energy and reduce stress levels. Make sure that this time is of high quality: listen to your favorite music or podcast while doing what you like, rather than mindlessly flipping through your social media feed.

3. Realize what you want now, what you need, and how you feel

Often, when communicating with other people, we temporarily forget about our own needs. For example, we try to support a close friend, although we feel that we are barely holding on, or we devote time to a girl, although we know that the problems will not solve themselves and that it’s time to start taking action.

All these factors turn communication into an additional stress factor. To avoid the adverse effects of internal stress, take the time to understand what you need and how you feel. This will help you separate from other people’s emotions, which you may unwittingly absorb when communicating, and change your focus to yourself to come to your senses faster.

4. Reduce the physical stimuli in your environment

Don’t lose sight of how what surrounds you affects your emotions. If you’ve spent several hours chatting with others and feel depressed, returning to an apartment with chaos and a mountain of dirty dishes in the kitchen won’t help you relax and calm down. Visit. A F R I N I K . C O M .Organize things and create a relaxed space before chatting with someone.

When I returned, I turned on the melodious music, dimmed the lights, and tried to tune in to a calm mood. If you live with roommates, parents, or a girlfriend, try to find a corner where you can spend at least half an hour alone.

5. Don’t turn someone into a healing project.

Supporting other people is important if you want to build strong friendships and relationships with them. But remember that you are not entirely responsible for their problems and well-being. Create a healthy space between yourself and those who need support. Taking care of your loved ones is okay, but don’t let their problems consume you.

Learn to end a conversation when you feel your energy is zero or refuse to “save” people. Believe me, many of them can solve their problems on their own. And this is not at all selfish, as it may seem at first glance. This approach to communication is a great way to take care of your moral well—being and stop taking responsibility for something that simply does not belong to you.

6. Identify your triggers

A pleasant conversation can turn into a stressful conversation in an instant. It is important to recognize what leads to this. For example, you may feel like everything is boiling inside if someone mentions an unpleasant topic for you. Or experience significant exhaustion when you must maintain a dialogue with a superficial person.

By recognizing triggers and naming the feelings they evoke, you can tame your emotions, which allows you to deal with them. Also, knowing the topics that cause fatigue and unpleasant moral feelings can help you be prepared for them and not take what others say to heart for your peace of mind.

7. Watch others instead of always feeling and absorbing

Learn to be an observer rather than an active participant in a conversation, especially when discussing other people’s problems. This will help you conserve your energy by separating your feelings from others and not being overwhelmed by other people’s emotions.

Learn to be curious about others’ affairs but remain calm. Focus on what you hear rather than your reactions, clarify the details to understand the situation, and avoid speculation and long reflections about what happened.

8.Perform actions that help relieve stress right during a conversation

Holding a hot, fragrant cup of tea may make you feel more relaxed. If you can look out the window now and then to “switch” from emotions to what is happening on the street, try performing these actions during a conversation to avoid stress.

You may have to invite someone to a coffee shop to chat and take a seat by the window, and this is better than isolating yourself from others or not fighting the internal tension during the conversation.

9. Talk to others about how they behave

Talking to other people about their communication habits can be helpful if every conversation with them causes stress. You can ask your sister to refrain from making judgmental comments that you don’t like or tell a friend that talking about your ex still hurts you. If people are interested in making you happy, they will try to control themselves.

Just don’t slip into accusations because it happens that someone is completely unaware that his words may sound offensive or annoying to you. And if talking about the fact that another person’s habits are causing your stress doesn’t help, you’ll have to distance yourself from them for your well—being and develop a useful skill – not to take other people’s words personally.

10. Separate yourself from the events and emotions of other people

Keeping a distance between the emotions of others and your own is very important, especially if you accidentally witness a conflict between people or fall under the hot hand of an angry stranger at the supermarket checkout. Separate yourself from the events and emotions of other people.

Say, “What is happening has nothing to do with my personality,” or “His words reflect his emotions; they should not become mine.” This exercise helps you stay calm in complex social situations and not lose your mood, even if others want to spoil it.