Here Are The Best Anxiety Reducing Techniques You Can Use Anywhere!
We’ve all felt it before, one moment everything feels easy and the next you feel like you can’t catch your breath.
Your mind is moving a mile a minute, thoughts are swirling around in your head, making it impossible to concentrate.
Your heart starts to race, your body feels jittery, and you just feel like you can’t settle down, no matter how hard you try.
You want to focus on the present moment but you feel so uncomfortable and out of control that you want to crawl out of your skin.
You want to find peace, but you’re so charged up and restless that it’s hard to find reprieve.
Sounding familiar at all? I bet it does!
Anxiety–whether social, general, specific, or panic–is extremely frustrating and difficult to manage. Anxiety not only can get in the way of the present moment but can even interfere with one’s daily life. While it is important to know that anxiety is VERY normal for each and every one of us to experience (and even helps us!), we all know that anxiety can easily get out of control. Which is where many of us find ourselves…feeling like anxious messes unable to deal or cope with our anxiety effectively.
So, what can you do to reduce your anxiety and calm your nervous system? Well, the good news is there are techniques you can use to reduce your anxiety. Here are a list of anxiety reducing techniques you can use!
Calming Anxiety By Accepting Anxiety
This probably isn’t exactly what you would expect to hear but it is really an effective way to ease occasional anxiety. The idea here is to accept the anxiety that you are experiencing in the moment without fighting it. Your job is to be neutral or even curious if you feel that you can in that moment with your anxiety, rather than criticizing and judging your anxiety like you might typically do. Maybe you picture your anxiety like a wave crashing over you or remind yourself that anxiety is a normal, healthy response. Perhaps you check the reality of your anxiety and ask yourself what the threat is or how likely that your anxious thought will actually happen. Learning to accept anxiety is a way for you to not only view your anxiety through a different lens, but will allow you to be more equipped to handle it.
Grounding Techniques for Anxiety
Whenever we experience anxiety, it’s really challenging to be in the present moment. Oftentimes, when we are experiencing anxiety, reality can feel like it is a million miles away which is why it is easy to get stuck in the undercurrent of anxiety and all of its symptoms in that moment.
We find ourselves being pummeled by anxious waves taking us in every which way, making it feel impossible to be connected to the present.
Getting grounded, especially when you are experiencing anxiety, can help you self-regulate in those moments of anxious distress. Ground techniques are gentle reminders for you to stay focused and anchored to the present moment, which helps reduce feelings of anxiety. Additionally, grounding yourself signals to your brain that there isn’t actually a threat present, which is what often triggers your anxiety response! Grounding techniques for anxiety can include,
54321 method–5 things you can see, 4 things you can feel, 3 things you can hear, 2 things you can smell and 1 thing you can taste
Holding a piece of ice
Moving your body
Using a mantra
Playing a game with yourself like naming as many states as you can or reciting the alphabet backwards!
Anxiety Breathing 4-7-8
When anxiety flares up, it can be helpful to take a time out to regain control by sitting down to take a few deep breaths. Taking a moment to pause and breathe can help bring you back to the present moment and even reduces the physical symptoms of anxiety. When you begin to breathe deeply, it increases the amount of oxygen to your brain, stimulating the parasympathetic nervous system, which promotes a state of calmness. You will then feel more connected to your body, bringing awareness away from the worries that are in your head. So, next time you feel overwhelmed and anxious, try deep breathing in for 4 seconds, hold for 7 seconds, and breathe out for 8 seconds. Practice this over and over until you feel grounded.
Butterfly Hug Method for Anxiety
Another grounding technique that you can utilize to manage your anxiety is the butterfly hug. This technique is a form of bilateral situation that involves wrapping your arms around yourself, so that each hand touches the opposite upper arm or shoulder and then moving your hands like the wings of a butterfly to tap your arms/shoulders in an alternating rhythm. If it can’t reach your opposite shoulder, you could also hook your thumbs together so that your hands form a figure that looks like a butterfly. Then put your hands on your chest and tap alternatively around your collar bone area. The butterfly hug brings you back to the present moment, calms your emotions, and provides a calming, grounding effect. It’s also recommended to use a positive affirmation along with the butterfly hug as well. The act of crossing the wrists and tapping each hand, allows you to focus on the physical sensation of the taps and the comfort of the self-hug. These actions help to distract your mind from the anxiety.
Tense & Release Muscle Relaxation for Anxiety
When we experience anxiety, we are often also experiencing a lot of physical tension. We are so physically keyed up that our muscles (and ourselves for that matter) forget that feeling of relaxation! Tensing and releasing our muscles by using progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) is a way to reduce anxiety and help you learn how to notice the difference between relaxed muscles v. tense muscles. It also allows you to practice a technique that will give you a greater sense of control over your body’s anxiety response. Ways that you can practice progressive muscle relaxation is by focusing your attention on the following areas (be careful to leave the rest of your body relaxed!):
Forehead–Squeeze the muscles in your forehead, holding for 20 seconds. Feel the muscles becoming tight and then slowly release the tension while counting for 20 seconds. Notice the difference in how your muscles feel tensed v. relaxed.
Jaw–tense the muscles in your jaw, holding for 20 seconds. Release the tension slowly while counting for 20 seconds. Breathe.
Neck & shoulders–Raise your shoulders up toward your ears and hold for 20 seconds. Slowly release the tension as you count to 20 seconds. Notice the tension melting away.
Arms & hands–Draw both hands into a fists, holding them for 20 seconds, squeezing as tight as you can. Slowly release while you count down for 20 seconds.
Legs–Squeeze your quads and calves for 20 seconds, squeezing as hard as you can. Notice the tension and slowly release over 20 seconds, feeling the tension melt away.
Feet–Tighten the muscles in your feet and toes. Slowly release them over 20 seconds and notice the release of the tension.
Enjoy the feeling of relaxation wash over your body! With time and practice, you will be able to utilize progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) to manage anxiety and quickly induce a wave of relaxation throughout your whole body.
Anxiety can quickly become overwhelming and all consuming, making it really challenging to manage in that moment. We have all been there. However, there are ways we can better support ourselves in those moments and ways to calm the anxiety attack into something that is a bit more manageable. My hope for you is that the next time you feel anxiety or panic, you utilize these anxiety reducing techniques.
