Place

I read a story in a newsletter and then tried to explain it to Josh as we drove home one night from a concert. The writer talks about a dog scared of people entering the house.

Instead of shutting the dog off in a room, a trainer worked with the dog, and he now has a place to go when he gets stressed out. The owner says, “Place,” and the dog walks to their bed.

It doesn’t stop them from getting stressed out, but as they get stressed out, they take breaks until they can release the stress and stay where they are comfortable. Their “place.”

You can read the technique here.

The writer goes on to explain how she uses the same concept on herself when she’s getting anxious. She allows herself to get anxious, acknowledges that she’s getting anxious, and then steps into a mentally calming place. Repeat until you can stay in the mentally calming place and leave the stressor somewhere else.

I think it comes down to acknowledging the thought instead of trying not to think the thought, which is a core practice within meditation. But it helped me to envision myself creeping up to the thought, feeling scared, retreating from the thought to a safe space to take a break, creeping up again, and repeating until I can leave the thought behind and gaze at it neutrally from a safe space.