What to do when anxiety strikes….
When your mind starts racing it’s easy to feel like you’ve lost control of the steering wheel whilst racing down the main road at 70 miles an hour. Pretty scary.
We often treat anxiety as something to "fix," but the most effective approach is often about regulating your response in the moment.
If you find yourself feeling anxious or overwhelmed, here are 5 practical things you can do right now to try and settle:
1. Name it
Labelling an emotion, you can start to create distance from it. Instead of saying, "I am stressed," try saying, "I am noticing a feeling of anxiety right now." This small shift in language moves you from being the emotion to being the observer of it. Your thoughts and feelings aren’t necessarily who you are or "reality." They can be powerful and have a big influence on you, but they can also be transient and challenged.
2. Reset with controlled breathing
When anxiety hits, our breathing gets shallow, signalling to our brain that we are in danger. Controlled breathing can help reset things. Try breathing in for 4 seconds and breathing out for 6. Extending the exhale is one of the fastest ways to begin slowing your heart rate.
3. Change your physical environment
Just getting up and moving can be a powerful regulator. If you’ve been sitting at a desk, stand up. Walk to a different room, stretch your shoulders, or simply shift your posture. At work? Go for a walk in the building, maybe nip out for 10 minutes if you can.
4. Change (or reframe) the narrative
Our brains are great at turning worries into absolute facts. When a catastrophic thought appears, pause and ask: "Is this thought a fact, or just a feeling?" Separating the reality of the situation from the emotional interpretation can help you lower the volume of the noise in your head and the feelings of alarm in your body.
5. Anchor yourself in the present
Anxiety usually lives in the future (the "what ifs," the “why didn’t I’s”). Grounding brings you back to the "what is”. The here and now. Try the 5-4-3-2-1 technique to get back to the here and now: Identify 5 things you can see, 4 you can touch, 3 you can hear, 2 you can smell, and 1 you can taste. It forces your brain to move from concentrating on internal worries to external observation. It’s a simple distraction technique, but it can be very effective.
Anxiety isn't a sign that you're doing something wrong; it's a sign that your system is trying to protect you. Sometimes, though, its responses can be a bit off and not really that helpful. These tips can help you get back a bit of control.
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