If you’re human, you’ve probably reached your breaking point more than once throughout your life.
Too much stress can leave you feeling overwhelmed, anxious and ready to throw in the towel at any given moment. The bad things is, stress often sneaks up on us, so we don’t necessarily realize we’ve reached our breaking point until we’re literally almost over the edge.
We have some areas of our home this January 2025 that do carry our “Clashing Wood” or “Conflict Qi”. This is quite strong in the North West and Central Palace of our home and when there is too much wood, we may want to bring in a little fire element to reduce the “Clashing Wood” energy down.
If we are already at breaking point, it’s important to know the steps to take to quickly calm yourself down and regain a sense of control so that you can think more clearly. Here are 5 techniques you can try next time stress has you teetering on the edge.
Breath
This is pretty obvious, and it may be the easiest step to take since it’s such a natural thing to do. You can immediately begin to feel better by practicing a few simple breathing exercises.
The more oxygen you get into your body, the calmer you begin to feel. You know the old saying, “Count to 10 when you’re angry?” There is some merit in that. As you continue to focus on your breathing, the tension starts to leave your body and it helps pull you back from the edge.
Try this even when you’re not stressed to the max to help clear your mind and be more present in the here and now.
Take a walk/run: 
Get out of your own head and let your feet do the work. Exercise in any form can help relieve stress in a big way.
It not only gets you away from the stressful situation at hand for a moment, but it allows you time to think. One quick tip: leave your phone at home.
You’ll be able to focus completely on your surroundings, get some fresh air and soak up some sunshine. With no distractions, it will be easier to clear your head and come back home with a new perspective on what you are going through.
Have a good cry
There is something to be said about crying it out and letting yourself feel the emotions you’re going through.
Holding back the tears and trying to be strong, is only going to prolong your stress and hurt. You may be surprised at how much better you feel once you let it all out.
Crying is a self-soothing way that you can relieve pain, enhance your mood and reduce your stress levels quickly. Allowing yourself that time to ugly cry can shift your thinking and make your situation not seem so bad after all. Holding all that emotion inside will eventually lead to our bodies deciding to create some form of dis-ease so that we start to take note. We need to allow others see our tears sometimes and that can often be very hard to do if we think we must remain strong for everyone around us.
Talk it out
One of the best ways to pull yourself back from the edge of a breaking point is to talk about how you’re feeling. Grab someone you trust – a close friend or family member and change your conversations. Sometimes it can make you feel 100% better simply by letting someone else in on what you’re going through.
I have actually sat on a bench at the beach and had a lovely couple of "older" ladies sit with me and chat and it felt almost like they were "Heaven Sent". I felt a whole lot wiser and aligned when we finished our chat and went our separate ways.
Plus, most of the time they will have a different perspective or at least some good advice on how to work through your situation. Either way you leave the conversation with more clarity and less stress.
Just remember not to have the conversation in an area of your home if your have not addressed the “Clashing Wood” Qi (Chi energy).
Briefly Check Out
When you’re stressed to the max, you need to give yourself time to zone out and focus on something other than the situation at hand.
Try listening to a guided meditation, calming music or even nature sounds. Close your eyes and let yourself be distracted momentarily. Listening to the soothing sounds of music or someone else’s voice can help you relax and de-stress from the moment.
Take a walk near water or walk in the park and get your shoes off - get more grounded and feel the energy of the earth beneath you. Let yourself feel your feet take roots into the earth and lock you in solid. Breathe into the earth energy and know that you are supported, the universe has your back.
You’ll find that once you come back up for air, the stress and tension isn’t nearly as bad as we often first think it is.
Please though if you are feeling like you cannot overcome stress then seek some help and ask someone. Asking for help is the hardest thing we often find we have to do but it is amazing who is ready to reach out and take our hand, they often shoulder our tears and just sit and chat on a bench at the beach.
You don’t have to allow stress to rule your life. If you feel like you’re at the breaking point, try a few of these simple tips to help.
