Anon, because your body is in "flight or fight" mode, you have to do something to soothe it. And that depends on why you're feeling the butterflies.
For instance, if you are feeling nerves, why? If it's something like stage fright, sometimes the best thing to do is move forward -- it goes away once you're actually on stage. If it's the butterflies because you're on a date with a new acquaintance, you need to ask yourself if you're just nervous or if you actually feel that there's something to worry about (our intuition is a powerful thing, and it warns us in physical ways when it needs to.)
People can get the butterflies -- or a full-blown stomach ache/near panic attack -- due to anxiety. If you know there's no actual danger and that you are just anxious, self-talk and deep breathing will help more than anything.
Show yourself the "right" movie in your head -- instead of worrying that you'll trip on stage or have a horrible time on a day, visualize the performance going well or the date being a lot of fun. Take long, slow, deep breaths -- hold them for a count of three -- then exhale slowly, to a count of three. And when you breathe in, be sure you're breathing from your diaphragm -- you'll know that you are because your stomach rises.
The good thing is, butterflies do go away! But breathing and visualization will help you in the meantime.
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Anon, because your body is in "flight or fight" mode, you have to do something to soothe it. And that depends on why you're feeling the butterflies.
For instance, if you are feeling nerves, why? If it's something like stage fright, sometimes the best thing to do is move forward -- it goes away once you're actually on stage. If it's the butterflies because you're on a date with a new acquaintance, you need to ask yourself if you're just nervous or if you actually feel that there's something to worry about (our intuition is a powerful thing, and it warns us in physical ways when it needs to.)
People can get the butterflies -- or a full-blown stomach ache/near panic attack -- due to anxiety. If you know there's no actual danger and that you are just anxious, self-talk and deep breathing will help more than anything.
Show yourself the "right" movie in your head -- instead of worrying that you'll trip on stage or have a horrible time on a day, visualize the performance going well or the date being a lot of fun. Take long, slow, deep breaths -- hold them for a count of three -- then exhale slowly, to a count of three. And when you breathe in, be sure you're breathing from your diaphragm -- you'll know that you are because your stomach rises.
The good thing is, butterflies do go away! But breathing and visualization will help you in the meantime.
April 24, 2009 - 2:15pmThis Comment
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