3 tips to manage anxiety
Feeling anxious is not fun at all.
In my early 20’s I had anxiety on and off and it’s horrible not feeling yourself, or being able to be yourself.
Below are 3 practice that have massively helped me and I still call upon them in times of need.
Invite more of the anxiety.
I know this sounds a little counterintuitive but what we ‘resist persists’ and really that is the crux of anxiety. When we turn to face our anxiety and invite more of it and say to anxiety ‘give me more, make me more anxious’, you’ll find that it doesn’t get any worse and helps to reduce that anxious feeling in the body.
When we turn to anxiety and welcome it wholeheartedly the resistance to it goes.
2. Get curious about the anxiety.
Pause and turn your attention to the anxious feeling in the body and start to describe it.
Ask yourself….
What colour is it?
Where can I feel it?
What shape is it?
What does it feel like? e.g. throbbing, pulsing, shooting sensation etc.
Is there heat in the body?
Getting really curious about the feeling of the anxiety in the body reduces the activity in the amygdala gland (the alarm bell of our brain) and brings the rational part of our brain back online (the neocortex).
In a nut shell getting curious helps us to self-regulate.
3. Breathe
Our breath is the primary thing that brings our nervous system back into balance and it also interrupts the amygdala gland. There are lots of ways we can breathe when feeling anxious but I love to do the below.
Step 1 - visualise the breath going from the mind down into the belly as you inhale.
Step 2 - As you exhale pursue your lips to blow the exhale out the mouth and whilst doing so visualise it go out a door from your belly.
Step 3 - Stay focused on your breath for 3 - 5 minutes and each time you get distracted come back to your breath.
Focus on elongating the inhale and in particular elongating the exhale.
The positive thing about an anxious mind is that it’s alert and has the ability to focus.
I have the above breath practice for you to try below.