5 Ways Nature Helps Me Calm The F Down When I've Been Triggered
Hi again dear blog reader! Turns out writing a blog where I want to share personal things is really nerve-wracking and hard so I apologize for the delay. Last week, just as I was getting ready to sit down to write a post I’d been planning, I opened instagram (bad idea) and saw a post that triggered me on a very personal level. It put me into a severe state of disarray and I ended up needing to take the next, what ended up being TWO DAYS, to calm down and recenter. So, dear blog reader, instead of the boring, washed up post I was going to do, (jk it was cool) I decided to share some of the nature related things that I do to CALM THE F DOWN WHEN IT FEELS LIKE EVERYTHING IS TERRIBLE.
1. PLAY FIELD BOTANIST
Get off your butt, out of the house and go look at some plants outside! Even if you’re in the city, there are tons of plants in people’s gardens and cool weeds growing out of cracks that you can go take a look at. I also love that when I’m outside where I live in the western Catskills I have no cell phone service. It definitely helps me reach a feeling of peace, not having to worry about notifications and no temptation, or ability, to refresh socials. I’d say leave your phone altogether, but I constantly fear being kidnapped and I’d feel so guilty if you were on my account. And anyway, how do you think I end up taking all those sick nature photos I’m posting all the time? It’s really fun and relaxing to be immersed in playing “field botanist.” I grew up making *very cool* nature videos in the woods with my best friend (hi Jess!) and I think this is an activity that really soothes my inner child. Exploring, fresh air, being present, being around green things, its just wonderful. When I get back inside I like to look up the plants that I don’t know either in my field guides or on INaturalist and see if they have any cool medicinal uses or if they’re edible. Then you can post to IG and help brighten other people’s days and make plant ID friends online! Super nerd alert!
2. FREESTYLE TO (emotional) FREEDOM
It’s also helpful if you have a nonhuman companion to sing back up vocals for you.
Over the past few months I’ve gotten really into singing! Not only is my karaoke repertoire the best its ever been, I’ve also discovered that making up songs about my problems really helps me get to the underlying emotions behind them. I struggle with bottling up my emotions and just moving on quickly without actually expressing or acknowledging them. I noticed that I won’t really have access to them again until I have someone else there as a witness, but I don’t want to have to rely on others for this! Luckily I figured out that by singing, very bad and often clumsy songs that tell the story of my problem to Miss Mother Nature I can access my emotions again and let loose in the way I wasn’t capable of before. I also will sing affirming phrases to myself, reminding myself that I am a good, strong, smart, loving and kind person. It’s a lot easier to do this when I know I’m totally alone, and I have the luxury of having my dog with me who would let me know in a heartbeat if someone is around. I’ve been singing to myself while I’m outside walking in the woods or sitting by the creek, but you can really do it anywhere, in your car, your living room, wherever!
3. MEDITATE BY RUNNING WATER
or play the sound of it on your headphones!
Ok this one is kind of obvious sounding, but even just 2 minutes of meditating by a river, ocean, fountain, whatever, does wonders for easing my triggered brain. I like to imagine that the cool water is washing over me and taking away all of my dark incessant thoughts and insecurities downstream, and leaving me cleansed, calm, and with a sense of peace. This is another one where it can be a little scary to do in public, but just think about how you would feel if you saw someone meditating by themselves by a stream, you’d probably just think they were super cool and wish you were doing it too! If closing your eyes feels like too much for any reason it’s totally cool to just bask in the sounds and scenery with your eyes open. It might even help you relax more if you’re somewhere with interesting things to watch like water running over cute pebbles, rustling leaves, or how the sun glimmers on the water.
4. LEMON BALM DOT COM
I may be partial to this herb because the latin name is Melissa officinalis and you knoww I’m all about being on brand, but ever since I’ve started growing it in my garden a few years ago I’ve been in love. It’s one of those herbs that just transports you when you cup it in your hands and take a big huff. To me it smells kind of like a big bowl of Fruit Loops on a warm summer day. I can’t remember the last time I had the cereal but I ‘ll bet you there is some inner child stuff going on here. Another way to enjoy lemon balm is as a tea. You can easily make it if you have fresh lemon balm with a tea strainer (I recommend this style) or boxes are sold at many grocery stores. I love to make iced tea with hibiscus, mint, lemon and some agave (I’ll do a post on this later and link it). I keep a pitcher in my fridge all summer, its also easy to take in a insulated mug on the go so you’re less likely to be tempted to buy a sugary drink while you’re out. A final way to enjoy lemon balm brings me to my last nature relaxation technique, herbal bathes!!
5. HERBAL BATHS FOREVER
Disclaimer: I already feel bad mentioning this because the tutorial post is to come, this is the post I was planning on doing on Friday when I was triggered!
I am a BIG time bath fan, to the extent that I bought a blow up bath tub that fit in my shower stall two apartments ago. I felt like all the epsom salts and bubbles were drying my skin out and I was looking for something to mix it up. Also sometimes I don’t really need to wash myself, like if I’ve already showered and just want to relax at the end of the night, so I got the idea to start experimenting with herbal bathes. I love that you can use pretty much whatever herbs you like, fresh or dried, and you know that all that herbal goodness is going straight into your beautiful epidermis. The main concern I hear from people when I tell them about this is that all the herbs are going to clog their drain pipes, but this isn’t your instagram content floral bath! I place about a 1/2 to 2 cups of herbs (sometimes the fresh herbs are pretty big) in the center of a silk scarf and tie it in such a way that the herbal bits can’t escape. I bring a pot of about 6 cups of water to boil on the stove and then turn it off and let the sachet steep while I set up my bath with candles, music, whatever vibes I’m going for. I’m going to leave this here and by Friday I promise I will have a tutorial up on the blog so I can really illustrate the beauty of the herbal bath along with some of my recipes using both bought and foraged herbs!
I hope this post has given you some new ideas for how nature can help you relax when you’re feeling overwhelmed. Please let me know in the comments if you have any questions or if you try any of the techniques. I want to know how it goes for you!
LYLAS <3