Five Simple Ways to Reduce Anxiety
We all feel anxious at times.
Anxiety can feel very uncomfortable in terms of the physical sensations that we notice, such as upset stomach, nausea, sweating, breathing changes, heart rate increase, restlessness, and so many others. Often, our thoughts when we feel anxious are also upsetting. They seem to be on their own never-ending rollercoaster, looping around in a relentless way. Some thoughts may be those nagging types that are reminding us about to do’s, while others might seem terrifying and involve thinking about and/or imagining the worst case scenario.
Have you ever walked into a store and felt overwhelmed by the busyness?
Have you ever sat behind the wheel of your car and noticed feeling nervous about driving to your destination?
What about a job interview, at home with your baby, or waiting for a doctor’s phone call?
Maybe you felt nauseous or noticed your breathing changing, had thoughts like “I won’t be able to do this” or “I will fail,” or felt unable to take action (also known as the freeze response). Maybe there was a tone of irritability rising within you. These are all examples of when we notice anxiety and those symptoms that come with it.
It’s much harder to try to make anxiety go away than to find ways to manage it. My hope is that you will learn some concrete ways to manage your anxiety by reading this post today. You may even end up feeling less worried and overwhelmed, while noticing shifts in being able to concentrate better or think more clearly.
A lot of these tools for managing anxiety might seem really simple at first glance. In fact, we want them to be simple so that they seem so easy to implement even in the most stressful times. Ideally, we would learn these skills and practice them repeatedly, both when feeling well and when feeling anxious. This is how our brains retain information the best, when we expose ourselves to new information numerous times and also under different conditions. The more you are familiar with these skills, the easier it is for your mind and body to access them when they’re most needed, similarly to using a short-cut.
Here are five skills you can try out for managing anxiety:
1. Breathing
Start by taking a deep breath in. Pause. And exhale when you feel ready to do so. Put one hand on your chest and one on your abdomen and notice the rising and lowering of each in-breath and out-breath. Locate a shape in your surrounding; a square is a common shape (e.g. picture frame, mirror, window, etc.), but it could be any shape. Follow the outline of the shape with your gaze while breathing in and breathing out. With a square, you may even breathe in on one side, pause on the next side, breathe out on the next side, and then pause again on the final side.
2. Using Your Senses
Tap into your senses connected to seeing, touching, hearing, smelling, and tasting. Ask yourself some detailed questions, such as: What are three things you can see in your room that are green? What are three things that look like squares? What are three things that you hear? What are three things you can touch? Try to tune into your senses as if you were describing what you are noticing to someone else. For scents, items that may have a smell could include a candle (does not have to be lit), laundry (e.g. laundry detergent), lotions/ soaps, plants, dry hair shampoo, etc. For taste, some people like to chew some gum or a small snack to pick up on any sensation around taste.
3. Cold Water/ Ice Sensation
This is a skill often used to increase distress tolerance and also works really well with anxiety symptoms. Examples are having a glass of cold water, holding an ice cube or ice pack, taking a cold shower, holding your hands under cold running water, splashing your face with cold water, etc. Notice the cold sensation; is it uncomfortable or refreshing? Stay with it for 30 seconds if you’re able to. Take a deep breath in and out.
4. Giving Anxiety a Name/ Shape
I like ways of externalizing what we feel so that instead of feeling stuck or overcome by a sensation or emotion, we can gain some distance and become more curious. What would your anxiety look like if it had a shape? Which colour would it be? What would its name be? Would it have a smooth or rough texture? Would it change shape and form over time? Pay attention to what you notice when you imagine your anxiety in this way. Does it feel lighter in some way to imagine your anxiety as separate from you? Does it feel less mysterious when you can look at it and have a name for it?
5. Self-Compassion
Practice self-compassion. One way of doing so is thinking about what you would say to a friend in a similar situation. Most likely, you would be understanding and kind. What would it would like to shift from feeling frustrated with yourself to a place of being compassionate with yourself? What would your say to yourself, how would you treat yourself differently, and what would you be doing? You are not to blame for your struggles and you deserve support and understanding like everyone else. Look up the author Kristin Neff on more reading on self-compassion.
Next Steps
Try some of these strategies and notice how you feel. Check in with yourself before you practice one of these skills and then again afterwards. Try them out when you are feeling calm, but also when you are noticing you are starting to feel anxious. Let me know how this goes for you and what you’ve noticed by practicing these five tips.
