Everyone has had a nervous breakdown. In fact, it’s a perfectly natural and human phenomenon. Indeed, between family problems, married life, pressures at the office, shrill horns in the street and children and their nonsense, it goes without saying that there’s plenty of reason to lose one’s temper from time to time.
However, when the nervousness tends to repeat itself and the slightest thing turns you into a ball of nerves, then it’s no longer normal. In fact, when episodes of nervousness become recurrent and incapacitating, they can lead to a real nervous breakdown and profoundly affect your personal fulfillment. In the long term, a state of constant nervousness will even affect the quality of your social interactions. For all these reasons, it’s important to learn how to calm your nerves.

In this article, you’ll find all our secrets on how to do it effectively and easily.

All you need to know about nervousness

In today’s fast-paced world, nervousness is a fact of life for many people. It’s true that the race for personal and professional success doesn’t give us enough peace of mind. However, if nervousness is a phenomenon today catalogued as normal. It can be the sign of an excess of many little things that have gone unnoticed until now. Such as excessive stress, anxiety, fatigue or emotional overload.

A nervous breakdown, or what is known in medical jargon as a state of acute agitation, is a physical and mental response to this excess. This explains the sudden onset of screaming, yelling, crying or incoherent speech. That said, while this form of crisis may be fleeting, excessive nervousness can become problematic.

CALMING YOUR NERVES: A MUST FOR FEELING BETTER
We all agree that nervousness isn’t good for anyone, and even less so when it’s chronic. In fact, have you ever noticed that when you’re annoyed, angry, furious, exasperated, irritated, revolted or even a little anxious, it’s bound to show in your body? In fact, your body feels tense, your muscles tense, your heart explodes. You’ve got a knot in your stomach, in your throat, in your chest, sweaty hands. Your breathing quickens, your stomach churns. And sometimes even an irrepressible urge to burst into tears or break everything. It’s almost unbearable!

Worse still, a recurring nervous breakdown can be the beginning of a full-blown depression or anxiety disorder. Or even the more serious condition of bipolar disorder or schizophrenia. Indeed, when a person is constantly in the grip of a nervous breakdown, he or she can lose all capacity for discernment. They may even lose control over their aggressive impulses. In certain circumstances, the subject may become impulsive in the face of events and overreact.

Sometimes, this nervousness even leads to a form of auto and hetero aggression. In other words, destruction of objects, violence against oneself or physical or verbal attacks on others. In short, a permanently nervous person can be extremely toxic. And potentially dangerous, both for themselves and for those around them. That’s why it’s crucial to learn how to calm your nerves before the worst happens.

Tips for calming your nerves

Obviously, when anxiety and anger arise, it’s often difficult to control your thoughts. Or even to accept these compelling emotions. However, there are a number of tips and techniques that can help you calm your nerves, take a step back and regain serenity. Here are just a few of them.

DEEP BREATHING
That’s right! Deep breathing can help reduce stress! What’s more, it gives you the opportunity to step back from what’s going on, and gain greater control over your thoughts. In fact, American neuroscientists have hypothesized that slow, controlled breathing increases the activity of the parasympathetic nervous system and decreases that of the sympathetic nervous system. The result is a slower heart rate and lower blood pressure. The result is a return to a state of calm. In fact, in the case of a highly stressed person, deep breathing can counterbalance the stress peak and calm the nerves very quickly.

FIND A CALMING SPACE
As soon as you feel your nerves rising, it’s important to move away from the place that triggered the crisis. This allows you to step back from the situation and get your thoughts under control. There’s no better way to do this than to go somewhere that makes you feel good and allows you to see things in a different light. Better still, you can indulge in a relaxing activity that allows your brain to go into off-mode. Such as listening to music, taking a walk, etc. In any case, the most important thing is to be able to concentrate on the present moment. But above all, get as far away as possible from the situation that’s putting your nerves on edge.

EXTERNALIZE YOUR FEELINGS TO CALM YOUR NERVES
As you probably know, negative emotions such as anxiety and anger are part of everyone’s life. They’re perfectly normal emotions, and they’re what make us human. So there’s nothing wrong with admitting that you can feel them. What’s more, it’s important to understand that the more they’re repressed, the more they appear. Psychologists even say that blocked emotions can make you sick. So the best thing to do is to learn to accept your emotions. But also, and above all, to externalize your feelings so you can tame them and, why not, turn them into allies. Because, yes, don’t forget that every emotion, whether positive or negative, has a vital function in our lives.

Anger, for example, enables you to assert yourself in relation to others, by showing them where the line is drawn. Of course, externalizing your feelings certainly doesn’t mean shouting at everyone all day long to calm your nerves.

There are many exercises you can take to vent your emotions when they are present, and calm your nerves without taking it out on anyone. These include physical and artistic activities such as painting, photography, singing, music and writing. The volcano technique is another very interesting alternative. It’s a visualization technique that helps you learn to accept your emotions as they are and express them fully.

INFUSIONS OR HERBAL TEAS
As we’re sure you’re aware, nature abounds in medicinal plants and herbs that can be used as near-miraculous remedies for many ailments. In fact, many herbs have soothing and relaxing properties that can effectively calm the nerves. Lemon balm, lime and lavender are among the best known. Because they quickly reduce anxiety and stress. Of course, there are other plants with other virtues just as effective at calming the nerves. These include ginseng, borage, meadowsweet, cardamom, passionflower, St John’s wort, marjoram and hawthorn. What’s more, while medication can be an excellent support, it’s important to remember that regular use can lead to addiction. The consumption of infusions and herbal teas of virtuous herbs is therefore more than recommended.