Integral Canna: It’s All Normal
After listening to our bodies and thoughts over the last month, hopefully you’ve started to notice some things. Like how you respond to situations during your day. Do you respond emotionally while driving in traffic? Or seeing a couple showing affection? Maybe it’s when someone expresses an opinion you can’t relate to? Emotional responses are normal. Our emotions can get overwhelming and cause us to react before we have even processed what is happening, like knee jerk reactions to every event that occurs during our day. Let’s start looking at where these emotions stem from, why we have them and how we can help regulate our response.
These emotions are responses to triggers that protect us when they are working in our favor. In nature, anxiety protects us from threats to our body or survival. Our mind is always there in the background telling stories of how things could be, what you should or could have done, or how good it was before. It’s a never ending story about the past or the future. Living in this story all the time can cause us to react and feel the emotions as if we are in real threat. When we recognize that we are reacting, acknowledge the emotion that we feel, and ask if the trigger was meant the way it was interpreted. Maybe the reaction is justified and we need to protect ourselves. Maybe we are reacting and there was never a threat. If we are emotionally triggered and are not in danger, what can we do about it?
De-escalating our emotions when we are triggered and not in danger is an ongoing process. I am always looking for new tools to add to my tool box. If I find a technique that works for me, then I’ll try and incorporate it into my routines as needed. If a technique doesn’t work for me, I don’t abandon it. Most techniques become more beneficial the more consistently you use them. Meditation is a great example. You don’t meditate and fix anything or achieve a goal. There isn’t a good meditator or a bad meditator. It’s a practice of either focusing on one thing or nothing, noticing when your mind wanders, and returning to your focus. The more consistently you practice, the more benefits you will see.
Meditation is a great tool, however you can’t always throw down a pillow and meditate. For me, consistent time spent meditating decreases the time I spend involved in the story and less natural reaction. Having a technique that you can use at the time of trigger is also a huge benefit. A technique I find that works really well while incorporating cannabis is typically referred to as 54321. This technique works great on its own or in conjunction with cannabis. If possible, I start by stepping away from the trigger and lighting up. Then the goal is to identify 5 things I can see, 4 things I can hear, 3 things I can feel, 2 things I can smell and one thing I can taste. Typically by the time my brain thinks through these few simple tasks, the emotions are already decreasing.
Spend some time this month working on de-escalating emotions and trying to avoid excessive emotional knee-jerk responses. Try the 54321 technique if you recognize that you are triggered. If it works and helps, then keep it in your toolkit for those situations where you can need it. Let’s keep exploring, experimenting with techniques, and growing together!
DISCLAIMER: I am not a licensed therapist. I am not an influencer. Everything discussed is from personal exploration and studies. Any techniques and information provided are for educational purposes. The intent of this article is to help break down the stigma between helpers and cannabis users and vice-versa. Take what you connect with and explore it for yourself. Find what helps you and let’s take better care of ourselves. Message me @revsoddesigns if there’s a topic you want us to explore more!
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