'Glimmers' key to better mental health

Have you ever noticed the change in your mood when you hear your favourite song at the gym or the shops?

What about when the perfect parking spot opens up right when you need it?

Or there’s one dress left on the sale rack and it’s your size?

Taking note of these everyday blessings can have a big impact on your outlook and overall wellbeing.

In an age where our nervous system is constantly bombarded with negative stimuli, tuning into these micro moments of joy can return us to a state of calmness and happiness.

What are glimmers?

Glimmers are cues, either external or internal, that make us feel joyful, peaceful, calm, safe, connected or grateful. Basically, glimmers are the little things that make you feel good.

Glimmers can be things, people or places and they vary from person to person. They remind us of the beauty in life and help to soothe our nervous system.

According to Deb Dana, the clinical social worker who coined the term in her book Polyvagal Theory in Therapy, glimmers are “small moments when our biology is in a place of connection or regulation”.

How do glimmers differ to triggers?

Glimmers are the opposite of triggers. Triggers alert our body to potential threats, causing the release of stress hormones and mobilising our fight-flight-freeze-fawn response.

Being able to identify and quickly react to threats helps to keep us alive, but when we are exposed to too much negative stimuli, it can dysregulate our nervous system.

Glimmers, on the other hand, have a soothing effect on our central nervous system. They tell our brain that we’re safe and we can relax.

“Glimmers are kryptonite to our triggers,” said clinical psychologist Dr Carly Ymer.

“As humans, we are wired to detect negativity or threat and so our nervous systems are often activated or wired.”

How can glimmers help regulate your nervous system?

Glimmers stimulate the ventral vagal system, also known as our social engagement system, which is our state of safety. It’s also referred to as our ‘rest and digest’ response, as this is when we feel grounded and open to learning.

“Purposefully looking for and engaging in glimmers can help us stay regulated by releasing feel-good hormones and neurotransmitters into our body,” said Dr Ymer.

“For example, noticing how the sun’s rays feel on your skin when you step outside can evoke pleasant thoughts which in turn releases pleasant feelings, calming an activated nervous system.”

By practising daily gratitude as glimmers, we not only regulate our nervous system in the short-term but improve our overall wellbeing too.

“Practising this daily can create a habitual thought-feeling cycle that can actually boost your overall mood and experience of life,” said Dr Ymer.

“Finding appreciation in the mundane of life, and being thankful for basics like health, safety, family and friends helps us feel calm and settled in the life we have. This can lead to overall positive psychological wellbeing by creating and maintaining a state of contentment, as opposed to thoughts and feelings of lack or negativity.”

How To Identify Your Glimmers

In the hustle and bustle of everyday life, it can be easy to miss glimmers. Identifying them starts with tuning into our body’s cues and turning this awareness into a regular habit.

“Notice your own glimmers by being aware and present when you feel your body come into calm or pleasantness,” said Dr Ymer.

“What happens to your body, your breathing, your posture? Take note of where you are, who you are with or what you are doing. Lean into the feeling and indulge in it for a bit.

“This practice will record in the mind that this is a glimmer and you’ll want to feel more of it. The mind seeks pleasure and so will look for more glimmers. And so on, until it becomes habitual and you find and feel glimmers often, and in abundance.”

Glimmers

• Feeling safe and secure

• Internal feelings of joy and calm

• Stimulates ventral vagal system (feeling seen/heard/understood)

• Operating in the comfort zone (positive outlook/ready to learn)

• Simple, daily blessings

Triggers

• Sensing a threat or danger

• Negative feelings of stress or anxiety

• Stimulates the dorsal vagal or sympathetic system (fight/flight/ freeze/fawn)

• Operating in the panic zone (fear/shutdown, disassociation)

• Reminders of previous trauma