STOP Practice for Stress And Overthinking

This short mindfulness practice for stress and overthinking introduces the STOP technique - a simple and practical way to interrupt stress and overthinking during the day. The video explores how the stress response arises, and then guides you through the four steps of STOP: Stop, Take a breath, Observe, and Proceed mindfully. You’ll learn how to use this practice in everyday moments to reconnect with calm, regulate your nervous system and restore emotional balance. The video combines explanation, guided practice, and a simple 4 step reminder to help embed the practice as a supportive habit you can return to anytime.

Transcript

Right, It's an average day. You're doing household chores, Working at your desk, Or you're on an errand somewhere. Then, Suddenly, You get distracted. A sudden noise, A phone notification, An email, A question from a colleague. Then you start to feel busy or like you can't concentrate, You're worked up, You're stressed. Often, When we're in this state, Our stress response, Or fight-flight-freeze, Is activated. This is automatic, It's instantaneous, And to an extent, Very much out of our control. Adrenaline and stress hormones are cascaded throughout our body. It sharpens our senses, Pumping our blood faster, Readying our muscles to react, To leap from danger, To defend with strength, Or to totally freeze with fear. But wait a minute, It was only a phone notification, Only an email, Or an impending deadline. It doesn't matter, Our stress response doesn't care. It evolved millions of years before phone notifications or the internet. But eventually, Of course, Our bodies will come back to rest. We're designed to do this. But this may take time, And our stress symptoms can accelerate in this period, Leading us into all kinds of difficulty. Tension, Tiredness, Irritability, Worry, Anxiety, Just to name a few. What we really need is a way to stop. So how does it work? Well, Stop is a really easy to remember acronym. The S stands for stop, Whatever you are doing right now, As long as it's safe to do so. T stands for take a breath, And doing this intentionally. O stands for observing, Whatever is going on in your mind and body, What thoughts, Feelings, Or emotions are present, And doing this without pushing them away, Or without resisting them, And bringing kindness if that helps in the moment. And P stands for proceed mindfully, Carrying those feelings of calm and stability, And the sense of acceptance and openness into the next moments of your day. But wait a minute, How do I stop this busyness or the distractions in the first place? Of course, We can't stop things happening in life or work, But we can do something about it. And that's where the real magic of the stop practice comes in, When you intentionally interrupt your life or work with stop. But how? Well, Very simply, Write it down on a piece of paper, On a whiteboard, On a post-it, A screensaver, Or set a notification, An alarm even. And then you can use it as a prompt, And it will help you to reconnect with the present moment, Help you disengage from overthinking or rumination, And notice when you are physically or emotionally uncomfortable. Would love to hear how you're going to use stop.