A helpful tool for managing anxiety
You’re stressed out. You have a ton to do, but you can’t get motivated to do any of it.
You feel overwhelmed, nauseous, and your thoughts are racing. Maybe you’ve started having panic attacks. A panic attack is a period of intense fear and discomfort in the absence of real danger where you might experience feeling palpitations, sweating, trembling, shaking, shortness of breath, and even chest pain. These attacks are usually completely unexpected and always terrifying. Maybe you notice that you are suffering from constant feelings of anxiety that are not focused on any specific situation or event. Or maybe you are excessively apprehensive about being apart from a loved one.
In any case, you are aware that your anxiety has reached a level that is interfering with your ability to live your life the way you want.
So why is this happening? Why are you all of a sudden feeling this way? The reality is that while there are sometimes situations or events that we can point to as “causing” our anxiety, that isn’t always the case. The worry can be related to any number of events. Remember that fear itself is a natural and healthy physiological response to perceived danger. If you turn on the news any day of the week you will be exposed to some potentially threatening event, even if you don’t think it impacts you directly.
So what can you do? Well, the first step is to be gentle with yourself. You are not crazy, you are not weak. You are going through a tough time.
Picture yourself comforting one of your friends who might go through something similar, would you tell them to just get over it and move on, or would be sensitive and caring with them?
If you have already been telling yourself to “just get over it”, then you already know that’s not going to work. You can’t ignore it and push it down, the worry has gotten too big for that.
So in order to start to manage this anxiety better, you’re going to have to acknowledge it.
Start this by noticing your breathing. You might be breathing fast and shallow. The best way to breath in order to start calming your body down is long slow deep breath in through your nose and then out slowly through pursed lips. Take two or three deep breaths like this. Drop your shoulders. Take your tongue down from the roof of your mouth and then relax your jaw.
Now that you have calmed your body a little bit, we are going to go through a mindfulness technique called 5-4-3-2-1. Its a technique that utilizes noticing your five senses in the moment to relieve anxiety.
Getting in touch with your five senses in moments of anxiety is a great way to start to ease those feelings of worry.
First, you are going notice 5 things you can see around you. Maybe a picture on the wall, your cell phone beside you, or the fridge in the background.
Now notice 4 things you can touch. The blanket on the couch, the dog lying beside you.
Now notice 3 things you can hear. The kids playing outside, the washing machine running.
Now notice 2 things you can smell. The lotion you put on this morning, the flowers on the counter.
Lastly, notice one thing you can taste. What does your mouth taste like right now.
After you do this, take another couple deep long breaths. Then check back in with yourself. Are you a little calmer? Most likely you are. This technique will work wonderfully to help ease anxiety when you notice it’s getting a little difficult to function effectively. It doesn’t take a lot of time, and you can do it in any situation.
If more days than not for a period of 6 months or so you’ve been struggling with increased anxiety, please consult your doctor or give us a call. We provide mental health counseling for individuals suffering from increased anxiety. There is a help out there for you, you don’t have to struggle with excessive worry anymore.
