“I want to take care of my stress right now!”
Many people surely feel this way. Stress relief has become essential in a society that is inherently stressful. In this article, we will explore a quick and easy method to reduce stress that has proven positive effects: the “fly on the wall” method.
Contents
Imagine Yourself as a “Fly on the Wall”
The “fly on the wall” method is useful when you feel angry, or want to get rid of your irritation. There are no required items or complicated steps. It’s as simple as this: when something happens that upsets you, imagine yourself as a fly on the wall. It may sound silly, but this technique has been proven effective by a study conducted at Ohio University. In the experiment, the group that utilized this technique experienced significantly decreased levels of anger, and their performance in given tasks improved by 30%.
The important thing in this technique is to “create a perspective of observing yourself objectively”. By doing this, you create a distance between your experiences and your emotions. Subsequently, it becomes more difficult for you to get swept up by negative emotions, and helps to reduce stress. Therefore, it doesn’t necessarily have to be from the perspective of a “fly on the wall” – it could also be a cloud in the sky, or a security camera.
Becoming a Fly on the Wall Lets You be Objective
When a person perceives a negative event that causes anger or frustration, they tend to focus on the immediate experience. This makes it difficult for them to perceive the situation calmly and objectively. Once this happens, the intense emotions interfere with our ability to think calmly and make it difficult to get out of the stressful situation. By creating an outside perspective on your immediate situation, you can perceive the facts objectively, and help cool down your emotions.
The “fly on the wall” technique is a very easy stress management method because it can be completed with just your own imagination. You don’t need to use any tools, speak up, or perform any special movements. The fly on the wall is a very effective technique that can be practiced even when you are at work or in the middle of a conversation with someone and you don’t want them to notice that you are feeling stressed.
Become a Fly on the Wall to Reduce Stress
The fly on the wall method can help you escape from negative thoughts – try it out the next time you’re feeling a bit of anger or irritability. The key to taking care of stress quickly is to have some form of stress relief on hand. Having a coping mechanism on standby, such as the fly on the wall technique, helps to keep your mental health in check. There are also many other stress-care methods besides the fly on the wall technique that you can use easily. Knowing what works for you, and getting into the habit of practicing them when you feel stressed, is the key to living a healthy and comfortable life.
Looking to improve your mental wellbeing? Try the SELF MIND app FREE for 1 week!
If you’re looking for more tips on how to care for your mental health, check out some of our past blog posts!
Image：Unsplash
Reference：
Mischkowskia, D., Krossb, E., & Bushman, B. J. (2012). Flies on the wall are less aggressive:Self-distancing “in the heat of the moment” reduces aggressive thoughts, angry feelings and aggressive behavior. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 48(5), 1187-1191.