Often when feeling overwhelming anxiety or experiencing certain triggers, it can make people feel out of their body or feel detached from their body, emotions, or reality in general. This experience can be referred to as dissociation or depersonalization (not used interchangeably). Depending on the severity of the issue and the preferences of the client, certain exercises surrounding the body can help with feeling more grounded in reality and reduce symptoms of dissociation and distressing emotions. That being said, this website provides different exercises, questionnaires, and helpful resources to help prevent episodes of dissociation as well as to help one develop an action plan on how to stay grounded in reality when experiencing overwhelming situations. We have included a worksheet where you may have the option to label where you feel stress in order to become more aware, as well as different grounding exercises, including CBT and breathing exercises.
Most people only see anxiety as typical symptoms, such as sweaty palms and a racing heartbeat, but there are other underlying health concerns surrounding anxiety as well. According to the article, "Bodily expression of psychological distress in adolescents: A qualitative study - child and adolescent psychiatry and mental health" by Maude Ludot-Gregore et al, people often experience joint pain, motor speech problems, feelings of heavy weight in their legs, and that their body was deteriorating overall.
It is also important to recognize that different people experience overwhelming emotions in different ways. That being said, we want to address different cultures and identify other ways of handling stressful emotions outside of the Western/eurocentric lens. Different cultures have different understandings of stress and how to cope with it, which is why here on this website we address that. We’ve included tools that respect these differences, such as body-based exercises, breathing techniques, and space for cultural or spiritual practices. We aim to help everyone feel seen, supported, and more connected to what works best for them.
Experiencing and learning about your culture can put an immense amount of stress and anxiety on your body. There are many pressures of meeting the "status quo", being enough for your family, providing for your community, and overall having a strong sense of cultural identity while also being who you strive to be. This worksheet intends to point out, dissect, sit with, and reconnect with yourself with any possible cultural anxiety/stress you are feeling.
In order to make sure this worksheet targets the whole body when under stress we have broken it down into three sections, mindfulness, breathing, and body. Each section asks reflective questions as well as provides diverse ways to manage stress and anxiety with different mindfulness practices.