I'm A Neuroscientist & This Is How I Decompress (In 60 Seconds Or Less)

Though our triggers are different, most of us know what it feels like to be overcome with difficult emotions. Maybe you feel stress after opening up an email, anxiety when thinking about an upcoming presentation, or sadness when rehashing a conversation that didn't go your way. These moments can cause us to get lost in our feelings—even if they're not the most logical or helpful.

The next time you find yourself in a charged moment, Caroline Leaf, Ph.D., author of Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess, has some tips for quickly making your way out of it. The key, she says, is using decompression activities that, by definition, help us return to a normal, more relaxed state. "By utilizing decompression activities, we can enter a space that allows us to bring whatever emotions we have down to a more manageable state," Leaf tells mbg.

The next time your mind takes over, Leaf recommends using grounding practices to come back to your body. "When we feel stressed out or overwhelmed, we may find ourselves too mentally exhausted to process our emotions, or we may be too overwhelmed by the intensity of our feelings. In moments like these, it can be incredibly beneficial to connect with our ability to touch and feel," she says. In doing so, we take our attention off our racing thoughts—which may or may not be true—and connect with the real and tangible world around us.

"Another tool that helps us decompress is to harness our creativity and imagination," Leaf explains. In moments of tension, moving your body freely, dancing to a favorite song, or taking a pen to paper can all be ways to find relief quickly.

Creative outlets can also play a role in long-term emotional maintenance. "Creativity can teach us a lot about ourselves. It is a great way to embrace our own sense of self-discovery and get to the root of what is making us stressed out, and where we want to go in life," Leaf says. From a neurological perspective, she adds that engaging with creativity can promote gamma waves1 in the brain—the fastest brain wave that is associated with learning and integrative thinking.

Deep belly laughs can lighten any mood, and they even have a positive physiological impact. "Laughing reduces the level of stress hormones like cortisol and epinephrine (adrenaline)," Leaf says. "It also increases the level of health-enhancing hormones in our brain and body, such as endorphins."