Welcome to a new episode of the Road to Self podcast, ''The Power is Within You!''

The podcast details techniques for managing stress and regaining presence, self-confidence and control in difficult situations.

By listening to this podcast, you will learn how you can manage your stress and anxiety through techniques such as deep breathing, meditation, tapping, personal anchor setting or mindfulness techniques. You will also learn how to maintain your presence, improve your self-confidence and regain control in difficult or stressful situations.

This podcast is for anyone who wants to improve the quality of their life and to learn effective techniques for dealing with stress and difficult situations. Whether you are an entrepreneur, an employee or you simply want to improve your mental health, this podcast can help you regain the confidence to live a balanced and fulfilled life.

I will start with a short poem that I wrote a few years ago:

We do change the world
With every step we take
With every thought we dare
With every heart beat we count
With every sunbeam we embrace
May all take you further and further
Until you reach whatever will inspire
Your essence and your desire 

In essence, what this poem conveys is that our mere presence on earth, here and now, makes a difference in this world. In what way, big or small, directional or not, the existence of each of us has an impact. Choosing to be aware of this fact, to take on one role or another, or more, to be present in our own bodies, in the space in which we find ourselves, to dare to walk and to trust in ourselves and in our ability to carve the best path for ourselves, are essentially basic elements within anyone's reach. And yet ... whenever an external event threatens our stability or the plans we have made, an apparent failure makes us doubt ourselves, a loved one lets us down, responsibilities seem to overwhelm us, we step into a space where an inner vortex throws us off balance, and the feeling we experience is that nothing makes sense, we are empty of resources, it's as if we don't know what to do. Unable to control the moment, reactively, some of us remain stuck - speechless, static, frozen, as the ground seems to run out from under our feet, others tend to flee - literally - from the instance in which they find themselves, while others can become gripped by emotions that sometimes take on violent forms of verbal or behavioural expression. The reactive tendencies mentioned are generated by our internal defence system that made the difference between surviving or not when, many hundreds of thousands of years ago, living in the jungle for example, we encountered a predator, and the ability to run or remain still could be tactics to escape alive. Basically, the moment our body interprets an external stimulus as a threat to personal safety, blood is distributed predominantly to the limbs which are the ones that can actually help us escape from the situation - certainly in the jungle being, depriving the brain of oxygenation - so necessary today when we do analysis, study or engage in intellectual debate. Nowadays jungle predators take the form of excessive stress, corporate presentations, difficult discussions with superiors, stock market losses ..., and our ancestral brain does its job and will tend to react viscerally to ensure maximum chances of survival. Except ... we're not in the jungle anymore. And ... so .. are there ways in which we can control these reactions more harmoniously and effectively?

'' Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space lies our power to choose how we respond. In our response lies our ability to grow and our freedom,'' said Viktor E. Frankl.

How do we identify this space? Through exercise. It's a difficult task in the first instance, for sure. And, yes, it requires self-knowledge and self-discipline. How else to change a mechanism so strongly embedded in one's being? If some of you find yourselves in this story, if you feel affected and you want to manage such situations more easily, you may choose to work with a professional in the field who has the experience and tools to facilitate the process in a more harmonious and rapid way, helping you to identify the triggering elements, to recognize the sensations in the body that precede and accompany reactions to stimuli, and to work with you to identify the tools to support you in regaining control and your self-confidence. Some of the methods used are journaling, in which you are asked to recall an event in which you experienced a blockage, with details about the context, participants, environment, thoughts and emotions, fears experienced, what exactly preceded the moment of blockage (a particular piece of information received, a certain reaction of the interlocutor, getting on stage/opening the microphone for a Teams presentation), what were the immediate sensations in the body (maybe reddening of the face, cold hands, sweaty palms, loss of voice, rapid heartbeat, cold in the spine, etc.).) and the subsequent reaction.

'' Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space lies our power to choose how we respond. In our response lies our ability to grow and our freedom,'' said Viktor E. Frankl.

A professional you work with may assist you in reframing an event in case it was a traumatic one. They can help to create an anchor that will be supportive at times when one will go through such situations again. Anchors can be a set of words to be repeated mentally, a song that offers encouragement, gestures that refocus and increase self-confidence. You may have seen artists who, before going on stage, gesture, move their body, their arms.

Another technique that helps is based on breathing. For example, before a special event, this technique helps to refocus. It starts by bringing your attention to your breath, by consciously regulating it. Then, breathing calmly and regularly, attention is directed to each segment of the body - starting with the toes, soles, ankles, calves, knees, pelvic area, hips, abdomen, chest, arms, fingers, shoulders, neck, head, ears, nose, mouth, eyes, chin, forehead. At the end, the attention is brought back to the breath. If your eyes have been closed, open them slightly. Gentle shaking of the body, upper and lower limbs is recommended. Such a practice is also useful as a method to enter the meditative state, helping us to reconnect with our own body.

The technique of focusing on the breath can also help when we experience blockage events. Attention turns to the breath. Taking a few deep breaths will help the body to calm down and regain control. There's a saying in folklore: before you answer, count to 10. Similarly, what can work is a personal mantra, a word association that we choose beforehand and give it a sense of reassurance and confidence, to say when we experience a difficult situation. Just as, in the past in particular, a prayer was used to bring protection. In effect, what was being achieved was a transfer from a situation that seemed out of personal control to a higher instance that could intervene and restore balance.

Another technique that can be used is Tapping. This involves physically tapping certain acupressure points on the body. It is also known as EFT. The technique is based on the idea that negative emotions and physical pain are caused by disturbances in the body's energy system, and that tapping on these specific points can help balance and restore energy flow.

During a tapping session, different points on the face, hands and upper body are touched, focusing on a specific negative emotion or physical discomfort. Tapping is usually accompanied by affirmations and positive statements, which aim to reframe negative beliefs and thoughts. Tapping has been used to treat a wide range of conditions, including anxiety, stress, phobias, pain and trauma, among others. Although the technique is not widely recognised as a self sustained therapy, many people who have used tapping have reported positive results, and some research already suggested that tapping may be effective in reducing symptoms associated with certain health conditions.  

In stressful times, when responsibilities seem to overwhelm us or we don't feel in full control, guided meditations can help. There are many apps that offer them. You can also create your own meditations - you record yourself saying affirmations that position you in the state you aspire to. It's a self-suggestion whose effect can be amplified because you are the one certifying them within yourself.

Before ending this podcast, I invite you to listen to one of my meditations, part of the program I created for ''Eliminating Worries and Anxiety''