1Overwhelmed? Take two minutes: breathe out slowly, longer than you breathe in, and let the body lead.
You cannot think your way calm mid-storm, but you can breathe your way there. Slow exhales, then decide.
Where it sits. DBT Distress Tolerance, TIP skills; physiological down-regulation
Islamic evidence
Seek help with steadfastness and prayer (Quran 2:45). A pause to breathe and turn to Him is the help being pointed to.
“Seek help with steadfastness and prayer- though this is hard indeed for anyone but the humble”
Qur'an 2:45
Psychological evidence
Slow, controlled breathing measurably shifts the body toward calm and a greater sense of control; the body settles first, and the mind follows.
Zaccaro, A., Piarulli, A., Laurino, M., Garbella, E., Menicucci, D., Neri, B. and Gemignani, A. (2018). Frontiers in Human Neuroscience · doi
Slow, controlled breathing shifts the nervous system toward calm and increases feelings of comfort and control.
Review detail
Why it works. Slow breathing with long exhales settles the body's alarm and brings the calm the mind cannot force.
Feedback
none yet2When emotion spikes hard, splash cold water on your face or hold something cold for a slow count.
A jolt of cold gives the racing body something concrete to settle around. Simple, and it works.
Where it sits. DBT Distress Tolerance, TIP skills; physiological down-regulation
Islamic evidence
He sent down water from the sky to cleanse you and make your hearts strong and your feet firm (Quran 8:11). Even water is named among the things He calms us with.
“Remember when He gave you sleep as a reassurance from Him, and sent down water from the sky to cleanse you, to remove Satan’s pollution from you, to make your hearts strong and your feet firm”
Qur'an 8:11
Psychological evidence
A cold splash or cold hold activates a built-in slowing reflex that brings a spike of emotion down within moments; the body has a brake, and this presses it.
Porges, S. W. (2007). Biological Psychology · doi
The nervous system shifts between states of safety and defence; cues of safety and calming the body restore the capacity to think and connect.
Review detail
Why it works. Cold on the face triggers a calming reflex that slows the heart and lowers the surge quickly.
Feedback
none yet3Scan your body, unclench the jaw, drop the shoulders, soften the hands. Let the tension out on each breath.
Emotion tightens the body; the body can loosen the emotion back. Release the grip one part at a time.
Where it sits. DBT Distress Tolerance, TIP skills; physiological down-regulation
Islamic evidence
You, soul at peace (Quran 89:27). Softening the body is a way of listening back toward the settled soul.
“‘[But] you, soul at peace”
Qur'an 89:27
Psychological evidence
Gently attending to the body and releasing tension steadies the emotional response; loosening the clench in the body quiets the alarm the mind is running.
Arch, J. J. and Craske, M. G. (2006). Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi
Briefly focusing attention on the present, through the breath, steadies emotional responses to distressing material.
Review detail
Why it works. Deliberately relaxing tensed muscles, part by part, lowers the physical arousal that feeds the feeling.