Your feelings are valid. Anxiety is a common experience, and you have the capacity to move through it. Take your time, breathe, and know you're not alone.
Don’t judge yourself for how you feel. Be confident you are able to get through this!
Several techniques for reducing anxiety:
Techniques are tools for gentle self-care in the present moment. Practice also helps you build your mental strength. Pick a few techniques that work for you and practice them regularly.
Find a safe space
Remove yourself from the situation triggering anxiety if possible and find a space in which you feel safe and comfortable. Surround yourself with a person you trust if possible.
Strike a Pose
You might feel like dropping down your walls, crying, curling up in a ball… or to the contrary you might feel the need to reconnect with the strength in you. Both responses are valid and non-exclusive.
Resting pose: Find a position you are comfortable in. It could be a fetal position, lying down, sitting… whatever works best for you, there’s no rule. Allow yourself to feel vulnerable.
Power pose: Stand or sit in a pose that makes you feel powerful for two minutes or as long as you feel it’s serving you. You are free to choose the pose. Examples are putting your hands on your hips or raising your arms in victory. This exercise aims at bringing confidence back.
Comfort
What brings you a sense of comfort? Is it a cup of warm tea, a piece of cake, a comfortable blanket, a hug? Whatever it is that helps you feel better, don’t judge yourself and ask for it or fetch it for yourself. Sometimes, a calm environment, a cup of tea, and telling someone you trust about your experience, is enough to overcome an episode of mild anxiety.
Think of a Calm Place
Think of a place where you felt calm. What did it look like? What sounds were there? – the sights, sounds, and sensations. Let this calmness flow over you.
Breathing techniques
One of the best helping breathing technique is the 4-7-8 breathing exercise we practiced earlier:
Breathe in for 4 seconds into your belly through your nose
Hold your breath for 7 seconds
Breathe out slowly through your mouth for 8 seconds
Repeat
Grounding
Just take a moment to come back to yourself, to the present moment, and to your body and environment.
Breathe calmly and gently look around you.
Name…
5 things you can see
4 things you can touch
3 things you can hear
2 things you can smell
1 thing you can taste
Affirmations
Say to yourself:
"I am calm and in control."
"I am safe and at peace."
"With every breath, I feel more relaxed.”
"I am capable."
"I handle challenges with strength."
Anchor positive emotions
Recall a moment when you felt confident and happy. Focus on this memory. Press your thumb and forefinger together. This is your anchor. Whenever you feel anxious, repeat this gesture to recall these positive emotions.
Reframe your thoughts
After you have regained your balance, take the time to identify what triggered the anxiety. Was there a specific thought, a specific situation or specific words at the root of the event?
Gently revisit what happened when you feel strong and balanced again. Ask yourself: "Was this thought accurate? Is there another way to view this situation?"
Speak to yourself with kindness and encouragement.
Tip: Explore techniques when you feel good
We advise you to take some time when you are feeling good to look into some helpful techniques, try them out and take note of them. Being prepared helps us to face these situations with more calm.
Ask for support
Once you have an idea of how to best react when you become anxious, share your experience and your findings with your loved ones and the people you trust and are most often surrounded with. It could be a partner, family members, friends, or co-workers. Tell these people you trust what techniques you have identified and what they can do for you when this happens.
Therapy
If you are dealing with anxiety very often, consider going to a therapist, psychologist, or psychiatrist. Our advice is meant to help temporarily in milder cases. If anxiety is at the root of deep suffering for you, do consult a professional for help.
