What to do when you get feelings of anxiety
Anxiety can be a scary place to find yourself. You feel out of control and your body becomes overwhelmed with nervous emotion which can lead to panic attacks. In that moment, you just want it to go away but the more you focus on it, the stronger the anxiety gets. It can leave you feeling broken, fragile, and often fearing it won't ever leave you.
Understanding your anxiety
Anxiety can be triggered by many things, such as phobias and fears, work stresses, changes in environment, relationship problems, and traumatic experiences. And it can seem like it comes out of nowhere.
It is a mental health condition found in approximately eight million people in the UK alone. So, while in moments of anxiety you feel helpless, it's comforting to know that you are not alone.
What to do about it
When you feel yourself getting anxious, there are three simple steps you can take to help move your thoughts away from the anxiety and calm yourself down which I am going to cover below:
Step one: create tension
Gently tense up the muscles in your body and slowly release. Repeat this a few times and feel how calm your body feels when it has released the tension.
Step two: focus on your breathing
Close your eyes and take a slow, deep breath in through your nose, and out through your mouth. Repeat this a few times, concentrating on your breath rather than the anxiety your body is feeling.
Step three: find your safe space
Keep breathing calmly and imagine a calm safe space. It can be anywhere, even an imaginary special place you can go to in your mind.
It’s just you in that beautiful safe place. Think about the things that surround you.
For example: You are sat on a beach with the warmth of the sun on your body. There is a light breeze that wraps the warmth of the sun around you.
You are safe there. You are in control.
You listen to the waves gently coming onto the shore and the rhythm of the waves soothing your body. Blue skies with white clouds floating in the breeze. The warm sand in between your fingertips and the breeze and the warmth of the sun soothing you and calming you. You are safe in your special place — nothing can harm you and no one can take it from you.
When you are ready to leave your special safe place, start to notice the sounds around you. Wiggle your toes and fingers, gently move your shoulders up and down, and when you are fully aware of being in the present, slowly open your eyes. Continue your relaxed breathing and sit quietly for a few minutes.
Remember, this is a safe place to return to when you feel anxious.
Repeat this as often as you can as it often takes practice to master switching off from other thoughts coming in.
A bonus technique you can try:
Place one hand on the bottom of your arm, and as you breathe in slowly and deeply, move your hand gently up your arm. As you slowly breathe out, move you hand back down your arm. Repeat this several times, concentrating on the soothing feeling of the hand motion.
You can also do this technique with someone else putting their hand on your back, with them slowly moving their hand gently up your spine as you breathe in and then back down your spine as you breathe out. This can feel equally as soothing for the person who may feel helpless when you are feeling anxious as they are doing something to help.
If you're struggling with anxiety on a long-term basis, therapy or counselling can help you find ways to improve your mental health in the long run. Call or email me today and take that first important step towards a better relationship with your anxiety.