Techniques to Reduce Anxiety
if you have had an experience with anxiety. you must know it is scary. heartbeat rises, the mouth dries, the dizziness sets in and you can't seem to stop those annoying thoughts like what am i gonna do, am i finished? what does he think about me? what if i fail? you get the point. at times like, These grounding techniques are the straws that can save our drowning selves. These techniques ground you to the present and discharge all of the negative energy of yours.
Anxiety
anxiety is the most common mental disorder along
with disappointment. the mind of the person suffering from anxiety treats small
situations as if they were life-threatening and so the sympathetic nervous system
becomes active and our bodies go into a fight-or-flight mode.
when
triggered this makes our heart beat rise, blood pressure increase, pupils
dilate etc. this is a wonderful mechanism of our bodies that prepares us to
deal with real life-threatening situations. but if you go into fight-or-flight
mode even when choosing a dress for a birthday party then there's something wrong, see our body doesn't make decisions on its own.
it doesn't categorize
the threat as life-threatening as long as you don't think so yourself. so when
you think that your life depends on choosing the right dress for the party then
guess what the body obeys your mind and you go into the fight-or-flight mode
that's what triggers anxiety.
there are many clinical methods of dealing with
anxiety disorders. if you have long-standing problems with anxiety you should
see your doctor that being said these grounding techniques can give immediate
relief from the symptoms of anxiety.
here are 10 great grounding techniques which can bring you back into the present moment and help stop your anxiety.
No 1. feel yourself
When suffering from the symptoms of anxiety we take our leave from the present and go somewhere dark, somewhere there's no hope. that's when we have to get our connection back with the present moment.
the easiest way to do is to become aware of
yourself. notice every single detail about yourself how you're breathing, how
your heart is beating, are you comfortable in your current position, are your
shoulders stiff, how far can you see, sitting or standing at your place, how do
your shoes or slippers feel on your feet things like that can bring you back
into the present and can help you forget about the annoying stuff that's making
you anxious.
No. 2 deep breathing can help.
another great way of getting relief from anxiety is
to practice different breathing exercises. breathing is very important most of
us don't care about breathing enough and so the majority of people are used to shallow
breathing.
this can have a significant impact on our
concentration, mood and energy. if you have noticed someone going through an
anxiety attack. you can see shortness of breath that's when you should try
breathing exercise. one such exercise is inhaling for four seconds then holding
the breath for four seconds and then exhaling for eight seconds.
when doing this it is important to focus on your
breath at all times. also fill your belly with your breath. a shallow breath
won't do. Do that a few times and you'll notice relief almost immediately. deep
breathing or diaphragmatic breathing
improves concentration and mood and lowers cortisol levels which is a stress
hormone.
No. 3 the five four three two one.
this is not account down to the new year but it is
a famous grounding technique to relieve stress. the idea is to engage your
senses and get back to the present moment.
an example
would be to look at five things touch four things in your immediate surrounding. here are three sounds smell two things and taste one thing the order doesn't
matter the point is to engage the five senses.
when you do that try to notice small and
insignificant things around you things that you usually ignore. this is a great
way to show appreciation for small things and life and get relief from anxiety
symptoms.
No. 4 dip your sinuses into a bucket of water
i'm not kidding when I first saw this i was sceptical about it too. This technique to work, you need to expose the area of your face between your forehead and nose to cold water. you could may be use a bucket or dish of water. Whatever works for you.
when you do that it is important to let the water
run inside your nostrils too. also hold your breath and you need to keep this
going for 15 to 30 seconds. don't worry the current world record for the
longest time for holding breath is 24 minutes and 3 seconds. 15 to 30
seconds should not be an issue.
parasympathetic nervous system
now don't confuse this with the sympathetic nervous system.
sympathetic nervous system triggers the fight-or-flight response. but the
parasympathetic system calms you down sort of like polar opposites. this
technique will lower your heartbeat and give you immediate relief from anxiety.
No. 5 take a walk
when the thoughts have taken over you and you have
already tried focusing on yourself and your immediate surroundings. but yet the
symptoms are not going away then it is time to take a walk.
Walking is not only a great exercise for your health.
but it is also a great grounding technique to distract you from your thoughts. a
lot is happening on the streets and roads that can help distract you from your
anxious thoughts.
exercise on its own is a great way of calming your
nerves. if you can't go for a walk may be due to extreme weather. you can
instead do some push-ups, jumping jacks or some other form of exercise that can
make your body move.
No. 6 the best time to do math.
When you have anxious thoughts try solving some calculus
problems, doing some math problems can help you calm down. You don't need to
prove a theorem to get the benefit. even counting backwards can help. the idea
is to focus on something other than your anxious thoughts.
some of the things that you can do are may be try multiply two big numbers neither being a multiple of ten. you thought it would be that easy or you could try and make a number by adding or multiplying different numbers. who knows maybe you'll improve your math skills in the process.
No. 7 make yourself laugh
we all love to laugh that's why the funniest person
in the class is always the most popular. unfortunately, we have forgotten how to
laugh due to our busy lives. thus the problems like anxiety and sad are
prevalent in society.
laughter
releases endorphins which are the bodies feel good hormones. also it can release
our attention and stress and make us relaxed. this makes laughter one of the
best ways of relieving anxiety. when feeling anxious that is the right time for
watching funny cat videos. you can may be make a funny joke or watch a funny
show on tv. whatever you do the end goal is to make yourself laugh.
No. 8 recall your favourite shows
when the future looks dim you can always focus on
some good things from the past. when you recall your favorite shows, it brings
with it good memories from the past. also making a list that you cannot complete
there and then can provide you distraction from your thoughts.
Another thing that you can do when recalling the shows
is to also visualize yourself in that kind of setting that you enjoyed. this is
a great way of pulling yourself out of an ocean of anxiety.
No. 9 cognitive updates
the anchoring phrase as some might call it, is
another way of grounding yourself in the present moment and connecting with
yourself. what you do is you recite obvious facts about yourself in a loud voice
like my name is blank, i am blank years old, I live in blank city of blank
country, today is Thursday, i am reading a book right now etc.
you can add
more detail to this too. as you like you can also make a card of all these
facts as you can read when feeling anxious.
No. 10 talk with someone
save the best one for last there is nothing more calming
than talking to someone you love. it could be a dear friend or maybe a family
member. you don't need to tell them about the things that are bothering you.
i mean that would be great but no pressure. you can
talk about anything maybe about a show that you both watch the important thing
is to connect with others.
if you cannot talk in person a phone call is the
next best option and the beneficial impact won't be any different. thoughts are
powerful good thoughts manifest in productive thoughts and fearful thoughts and
self-deprecating thoughts lead to problems like anxiety.
there are only a few things that are more
discomforting than an anxiety attack. so we have tried to give you 10 simple
and easy grounding techniques to help you calm down. next time you face an
anxiety issue try some of them.