Edited by: Anvitha Mattapalli, Samita Pandit, & Arushi Patil, Blogged by Sahithi Lingampalli

At times, you might feel helpless, as if a pair of hands is suffocating your every effort to stay alive and well. You keep sinking in a flurry of precarious thoughts without a lifeline to help you up. I myself have felt that way. Many times. Through my experiences, I have learned a lot about strength, trust, and growth. It’s hard to stay standing when the world around you crumbles, demolishing the stability you possess. Yet, you have come this far and you must have it in you to hang on to the edge, hold a hand, and slowly climb back up, no matter how long it takes.

Strength: Hang on to the Edge

At your worst points, breathe. Taking deep breaths inhibits the release of a hormone called cortisol, decreasing your stress levels and helping you to stay stable in tough situations. If you find yourself in the middle of a panic attack and unable to breathe, try applying pressure on your sternum, or the breastbone. It will open up your lungs and help you breathe.

Negative thoughts tend to flood our senses and strangle our necks more than anything. As impossible as it may seem to run away from them, thinking positively and repeating reassuring words to yourself will support your brain because your brain listens to you. Another way to lock up dangerous thoughts is through guided imagery, a technique I use often even when I am just mildly stressed over something as simple as a school exam. It focuses on the understanding of your senses and the riddance of stressful thoughts. Listed here are some of the steps I take.

  1. Play calm, meditative music.
  2. Lie down in a place without distractions.
  3. Close your eyes.
  4. Loosen all of your muscles and then contract them all at once. After a couple of seconds, loosen them again. Do this multiple times.
  5. Then, take slow deep breaths in a 4-7-8 pattern (inhale for 4 seconds, hold for 7 seconds, release for 8 seconds).
  6. Once you feel calm, picture yourself in your happy place.
  7. Start from the tips of your toes and note any sensations you feel (ex. prickling, poking, aching, bubbling, jerking), all the way up to the top of your head.
  8. After, take mental note of any images you picture in your mind.
  9. Recognize any feelings that you are currently feeling and take time to understand them and why they are there.
  10. Take note of what you feel in that moment.
  11. What you smell in that moment.
  12. What you hear in that moment.
  13. What you taste in that moment.
  14. And finally, what you see in that moment.
  15. Understand any thoughts you have in your mind, both positive and negative.
  16. Then, you must build a safe or container for yourself. You can do this by constructing a mental container that you feel will protect your thoughts. Think about the design, the colors, how it opens, and its security. After you have designed one, you will keep this with you indefinitely. It is your safety box.
  17. Open your box and put in any unnecessary thoughts you previously identified inside. It is up to you if you would like to come back to them or not.
  18. Lock up the box and put it in a safe place.
  19. Run away from the box to your happy place and rest there while taking 4-7-8 breaths. Stay as long as you would like.
  20. Once you feel at peace, wiggle your fingers and toes to bring back presence.
  21. Slowly get up, one vertebrae at a time.
  22. Finally, open your eyes.

I tend to take around 20 minutes to complete the steps, but you can take as long as you would like. I encourage you to try it whenever you want to unwind and clear up your mind.

Trust: Hold a Hand

Even though I am surrounded by my family and friends, I felt alone for a very long time. I bottled up my feelings inside of me, and it caused me to deteriorate; but, I found that when a friend opened up to me, I slowly opened up to them as well. Establishing trust can develop a strong support system. Your personal support system can be your friends, your family, your journal or diary, a TV show, a music artist, or anything that helps you feel safe and comforts your mind. Trust will take time, and that is totally acceptable.

Growth: Climb Back Up

As time passes, you will begin to heal. To allow yourself to grow and heal, it is important to understand that your feelings are 100% valid. If you want to cry, cry as much as you want. If you want to scream, scream as much as you want. If you want to laugh, laugh as much as you want. You ARE allowed, and encouraged, to express your emotions. Crying, screaming, and laughing all help to release toxins, relieve stress, and have significant results when it comes to clearing up your mind.

During the healing process, you will encounter dips in your mental health, but I know you will come back stronger than ever. During those dips, staring out a window and listening to your favorite music or doing your favorite activity will help you be at peace with your mind and body. The process is truly beautiful, as you learn to love yourself and spread that love as well.

Listen to what your mind and body have to say and protect them. Nothing is more important than your health: not school, extracurriculars, or social connections. Understanding your mind and body will help you grow as a person and come back up, better than you were ever before. I believe in you, and in time to make everything alright. If it’s not alright, then it’s not the end. So keep fighting. Break free from the suffocating hands that hold you back. And slowly rise.