Anxiety is an unapologetic monster, and if you let it, it can take over your entire mood for the day. Before starting any of these three practices, it’s important to acknowledge the existence of your anxiety.
Acknowledge Your Anxiety
The first step to controlling your anxiety is acknowledging its existence. Actor Bill Hader shared an incredible video in collaboration with the Child Mind Institute. I shared it with my children, but it really helped me too. He described his anxiety as an imaginary monster on his shoulder that comes to visit every so often. Acknowledging that his anxiety will always be around, he said, was what helped him the most in managing his anxiety.
There are a couple of practices I was taught that help bring me back down to reality when I can’t get out of that repetitive flight or fight instinct.
1. Breathe
Taking deep breaths is a tried-and-true method to relieve anxiety. Meditating while you’re practicing your breaths is an added bonus. It doesn’t have to take long either. You can practice this on your way to work or whenever you have five minutes to spare.
According to a Harvard Health article, deep diaphragm breathing helps promote full oxygen exchange. The benefits of deep breathing include lowering blood pressure and stabilizing your heart rate.
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My therapist recommended an app called “MindShift” that worked well for me. I introduced it to my kids as well. The kids loved it so much that they ask to hear the meditation exercises before bedtime. It provides tools and practices to be able to regulate your emotions whenever necessary. The neatest tool is five-minute or less meditation audio clips based on the type of anxiety you are experiencing.
2. Give Yourself a Pep Talk
Repeating a mantra is something I learned on TikTok, or therapyTok! It’s something you tell yourself to help calm yourself down. Some things I say to calm my anxiety are the following:
– You are not in danger, you are safe.
– This is a moment in time that will pass.
– You will overcome this and this feeling will pass.
Repeating positive mantras helps me rationalize a little bit better and focus on the task at hand.
3. Purge
Another great practice I learned on therapyTok from @courtneycriesalot is a method I’d like to call purging. Give yourself five minutes to determine what is making you anxious. Really go for it too. Get really into your feelings and think about what’s upsetting you and why that’s bad.
Once you’ve determined the cause or causes you move on to the next step. Validate those feelings. You’re NOT overreacting and every emotion you’re feeling is valid.
Starting a new project at work and you’re feeling overwhelmed? Yeah! I bet that’s overwhelming, and I’d be overwhelmed too!
You don’t need to determine a solution for your emotions. This step is just about validation and understanding your emotions. Think of an imaginary advocate for your emotions. Picture someone telling you that your feeling is completely logical. You’ve experienced a lot, and your emotions are real.
These are three practices that help bring me from an anxiety-ridden 10 to a steady 5 or below. The practices help with my day-to-day life, but I would also highly recommend therapy. There’s nothing better than having a non-judgmental ear to talk through your feelings.
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