During the dream phases during sleep, our eyes move back and forth very quickly and intensively. This sleep phase is therefore called the REM phase (Rapid Eye Movement).
However, eye movement is not only important while sleeping.
We now know from neuroscience that our perspective is closely linked to the processes in our brain.
For example, certain memories are activated more easily when we look with our eyes in the direction associated with them.
And the emotional heaviness we feel when we think of an event is also closely linked to the position of the eyes.
Coaching techniques such as NLP (Neurolinguistic Programming), emTrace®, Wingwave or EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) use this connection to activate and dissolve deep-seated emotions.
And you can also use this to downregulate feelings of stress.
And this is how it works:
- Think about the event that is causing you stress right now. Feel inside yourself, where you feel the stress in the body and how this feeling feels in the body.
- Then you "wander" around different positions with your eyes. Start at the top left, then top center, and then top right.
- Keep your head still and only move your eyes. In each case, pay attention to how your body sensation changes in relation to the stress trigger when you look in different directions.
- When you have finished the upper "row", lower the direction of view a little so that you are looking straight ahead. Hike the three points again: left, middle, right.
- Again, pay attention to your body sensation.
- Finally, do the same again with your gaze downwards.
- Here is the "grid" again:
- Top left, top center, top right
- Center Left, Center Center, Center Right
- Bottom left, bottom center, bottom right.
- Find the point where the stress trigger feels least uncomfortable. If you want, you can also "fine-tune" the direction of view a little.
- Once you have found the point with the most pleasant (or at least the least unpleasant) body sensation, simply hold your gaze at this point for a few seconds.
- This allows the feeling of stress to subside and you can think more freely about the event associated with it.
If you want, you can also "expand" the exercise a bit and use the power of nature for yourself in a very concrete way:
- Which resource could you use most in your stressful situation? More motivation? More serenity? More self-confidence? More optimism? Or maybe something completely different?
- What in nature do you associate with this resource? Take the first image that comes to mind. Maybe you don't have an image, but a sound or a general feeling that you associate with the resource.
- Try to make your perception as intense as possible.
- Now move this perception (your inner image, the sound you imagined or the feeling) to the point in the grid that you found in the first part of the exercise.
- Hold your perception in this position in your imagination for some time.
This second part can make the exercise even more intense in its effect and bring you out of your stress experience even more effectively.
So, from now on, just look at your stress from a different angle!
One more note:
The exercise is intended as a kind of "first aid" in stressful situations, for example, if you have had an unpleasant experience at work during the day that does not allow you to rest. If you are under great stress for a longer period of time, you should definitely change the situation as a whole - possibly with professional support. You should also not use the exercise to "self-treat" serious emotional problems. Always seek professional support in such cases!