Remaining Stress-Free Amidst the Transport Chaos

So it's another day of rain and the tube's not working yet again. Looking around at my fellow commuters having sandwiched myself into a number 73 bus, I ask myself, "how can you survive this transport chaos and remain calm and stress-free?" So I'm writing down a few ideas in an attempt to use my redirected travel time more productively.

Ah ha, I've just stumbled across the first strategy. I’ve changed my focus from, “How on earth am I going to get home now?” to, “OK I'm on the bus with nothing to do except wait for my destination I'll write down some strategies and get my downtime back in the process”. I've just taken back control. This transport chaos is no longer something that is done to me. I'm choosing my outcome.

Next strategy. See the situation as it is, but don't see it worse than it is. Ok, I'm going to be late which is annoying, but not life threatening. With that thought my chest lightens a bit more, I breathe deep and sigh quietly. I'm feeling better already.

Another strategy, it's all in the biofeedback. (I’ll provide a fuller explanation on biofeedback in a later blog) In short, biofeedback is a process of noticing changes in your body. It’s important to notice how you are feeling, physically and emotionally, as they both provide clues to what you are thinking about.

Stress starts in the mind when we perceive an event to be threatening. As a result of that decision (is this a threat?), we have an emotional response and physiological changes take place in the body to prepare us for the stress response, fight or flight. By noticing how we feel, we check in with the trigger thought. Do I feel happy? Is there a feeling of lightness in my body? Then, the thought is a helpful one. Do I feel anxious? Is there a feeling of tightness in my body? Then, the trigger thought must be less helpful, so I choose to change what I’m thinking about. I can keep changing my thoughts until I register a more helpful feeling in my body and emotional response. Or I can choose a predetermined thought that I know is guaranteed to make me feel happy. Once I’ve registered that thought, I’m in a better frame of mind to move on to thinking about other things.

Changing my thoughts reminded me of my physiology. I wasn't breathing fully (who does in London traffic?) and my physiology was adding to my irritation. Emotions leave clues. Follow the emotion back to its trigger thought, change the thought and instantly you feel different. Feel different and notice your body feels different too (better or worse depending on the thought you selected and what you replaced it with).

So here are a few thoughts on surviving the transport chaos. I know I'm now feeling much more relaxed and way less stressed. My fellow commuters are still looking stressed though!

Please leave a comment and let me know tools and strategies you use to survive the transport chaos.