I told my husband that football season is over, and thus, it is “movie season.” We have watched a movie practically every night this week. I love it. My husband kindly goes along with it, as I did, watching a lot of football, this past fall. The other night, we watched the heart-wrenching film, Honey Boy, based on Shia LaBeouf’s childhood experiences with his alcoholic father. It’s a tough watch, but it’s a good one.
What a like about books and movies is that almost always, besides being entertained and/or emotionally engaged, I also glean some sort of practical knowledge, to put into my proverbial tool box, which I carry around with me, while experiencing my life. So, the handy dandy tidbits that stuck with me from Honey Boy, are two items that the Shia-based character learns in rehab. One, is to hug yourself. I know, it sounds silly. It looked silly in the movie. I remember hugging myself as a kid and moving my hands up and down my back, as a prank, making it look like I was making out with someone, when I was viewed from behind. I don’t know about making out with yourself, but apparently, hugging yourself is a “real” thing. There is scientific proof that hugging yourself releases “feel good” hormones that help to ease your current pain or stress. Go ahead. Give it a try right now. No one is looking. Awwww! This is soon to become a habit, right?
The second tip is that when you feel yourself emotionally overloaded, a quick way to get back to center, is to force yourself to name four things in the room or area that you are currently in. It’s a quick and easy way to stop your mind from racing with escalating thoughts, which in turn, are provoking turbulent emotions. It’s your own personal “time out”, when you feel yourself losing emotional control. Desk. Candle. Clock. Screen. So easy, so simple, so useful.
These two suggestions were worth my time and money spent on the movie, even if I had not cared for the movie, at all. Everything has its worth, if we look for it. Here’s the fortune for the day:
“Be happy. It’s one way of being wise.” – Colette