Raele Altano shares a way to ease anxiety before difficult conversations: reframe them as something less scary, like calling it an "honest conversation" or "deeper discussion" instead of conflict. Pausing to redefine what's actually happening can shift how your body responds.
Here is a tip that might make the idea of conflict not seem so scary. Let's take a moment for this hair. It's probably the longest it's ever been. Should I get a trim or should I just let it keep growing? What do you think? Anyway, the tip is to be more mindful about what you even define as a conflict. We tend to jump the gun in calling things conflicts or confrontations or arguments or fight, and it just heightens our anxiety around them. We take a pause to define what the conversation actually is. It might help us feel more prepared for it and not be so nervous going into it. You can call your next talk with a friend an honest conversation or talking with your spouse or partner as a deeper discussion. Just because a conversation might have more emotion in it or might be more uncomfortable doesn't automatically make it a conflict. And you can reframe your thinking around it just by changing how you define it to begin with. Hope this is helpful. Try it out and let me know how it works.
