Foam Roll Out The Tension
Sometimes stress becomes physical: It can cause your muscles to knot up. These knots can develop in very specific places that build up over time, which you cant easily unwind via exercise or self-massage. Thats where foam rolling steps in.
Foam rolling adds pressure to those trigger points, signaling your body to increase blood flow to that area and for your muscle to relax. A full-body routine can help promote relaxation the way getting a massage will. Try eight moves here.
How To Calm Anxiety: Acknowledge Your Emotions
Panic is contagious. Fear is everywhere. If I turn on the news or dare step outside, Im sure the zombie apocalypse has arrived.
Sadly, Im now accustomed to managing my anxiety from hurricanes, earthquakes, fires, tornadoes, school shootings, and terrorist attacks. But those are isolated incidents. After sadness passes, I can separate myself from those events. Now, there is no escape from the cloud raining down anxiety upon us. This pandemic has taken my fears global.
Pandemics are not new, but never before has our society experienced anything like this. The range of emotions we feel is intense. Like traveling through the stages of grief, we experience denial, anger, bargaining, and sadness all in an effort to psychologically and emotionally accept what is happening and figure out how we are going to get through it.
Quick Somatic Stress Exercises
Bob Soulliere, Oxygen Advantage instructor and level 2 Wim Hof Method instructor from Alexandria, Virginia, recommends these immediate stress interventions:
- Wide-angle vision technique: Focus on things that are distant from you, but still in your field of vision . Then, relaxing your vision, allow yourself to focus less and less for at least 20 seconds.
- Cadence breathing: Inhale for a 4-count, then exhale for a 6-count, repeating the cycle for 1 minute. You can use a stopwatch on your phone for this, or just try counting to yourself.
- The physiological sigh: Take a double-breath inhale followed by a slow exhalation. Repeat 3 times.
Both short- and long-term strategies often involve reframing your focus and perspective.
In a recent 2021 study, researchers looked at coping responses to fear and technology overload during the COVID-19 pandemic. They suggest that certain coping methods lessened anxiety in the long term more effectively than others.
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Simple Steps To Help You Cope With Anxiety
If you or a loved one are struggling with anxiety, contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration National Helpline at 1-800-662-4357 for information on support and treatment facilities in your area.
For more mental health resources, see our National Helpline Database.
Anxiety involves feelings of worry, fear, and apprehension. Anxiety is typically experienced on cognitive, emotional, and physical levels. For instance, when feeling anxious a person may have negative or disturbing thoughts.
On an emotional level, one may feel scared or out-of-control. It is also common to experience severe anxiety through somatic sensations, such as sweating, trembling, or shortness of breath.
These symptoms are common for people who have been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. People with panic disorder are typically familiar with the struggle of managing feelings of anxiety. It can feel as if the anxiety is taking over or completely out of ones control.
Does anxiety have an overwhelming pull in your life? Fortunately, there are some simple steps you can take to manage your anxiety. Listed below are 4 tips to help you cope with your feelings of anxiety.
Learn To Recognize The Signs Of Anxiety
Anxiety disorder is the most common mental health condition in the United States, affecting up to 18% of the population. Knowing the signs of anxiety can help you realize when someone you love is having fearful thoughts or feelings. Symptoms vary from person to person but can be broken into three categories:
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How To Calm Down: 18 Ways To Reduce Anxiety And Stress
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We are in the midst of a global anxiety crisisone that didnt disappear once we hit 2021so naturally, were all wondering how to calm down. You cant keep a fight-or-flight response up for a year, says Miranda Beltzer, a Ph.D. candidate researching emotion regulation and anxiety disorders. Its a perfect storm of things that can make people emotionally disregulated.
According to the Household Pulse survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Census Bureau, well over 50% of adults in their 20s and 30s exhibited symptoms of anxiety- or depression-related disorders in November. The stats have been high since the weekly survey began in April 2020. As anxiety rises, so does our need for self-care.
Of course, were all feeling down, but that doesnt mean we get to skip taking care of ourselves, says , DSW, LCSW, a therapist and adjunct lecturer at Columbia University. Its important to honor any and all emotions, and continue to seek out support as you may have before the pandemic.
We asked experts in anxiety and emotion regulation for their favorite stress reduction strategies so you can figure out how to calm down.
Sigh To Help Yourself Be Fully Present In The Moment
During the MBSR class, we would take a few mindful sighs between transitioning from one person speaking to another. You breathe in to a count of five through your mouth, and then you let out a very loud sigh, the sound you hear your teenager make. I was always amazed at how powerful those small sighs were to adjust my energy level and focus.
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Use Deep Calming Breaths
Deep breathing is one of the most immediate steps you can take to calm anxiety.
When we are anxious, we tend to tense up, leading to rapid and shallow breathing. Using deep calming breaths can help us immediately calm down our physiological response to our racing thoughts. Deep breathing involves diaphragmatic breathing.
Breathe slowly though your nose and release your breaths slowly through your mouth. Consciously extend your abdomen while taking deep breaths instead of taking shallow chest breaths.
How can you tell if you are breathing deeply? Put one hand on your stomach and one hand on your chest when you breath in, the hand on your stomach should be moving up and down while the hand on the chest stays relatively still.
To help concentrate on your breathing, imagine a color as you breathe in and out.
Count slowly either forwards or backwards for up to the count of 10 as you breath in and as you release your breath.
Use a mantra you repeat on each breath, such as the word RELAX or CALM.
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How To Calm Yourself Down At Work
Work can be a major source of stress and anxiety. Unfortunately, when were at work, its not always possible to just leave and get a massage or go for a run. Developing skills to help you calm yourself at work can improve your communication with your colleagues. It can boost your productivity and your satisfaction with your career.
- Take a break
If you work in an office even if its a home office a change of scenery can do you good. Take a quick walk or run some errands. Breaking from your routine will naturally give you some emotional and physical distance to process why youre upset.
- Do something not work-related
If you find yourself triggered or upset during a meeting , try doing something else. In virtual meetings, go off-camera, color, draw, or squeeze a stress relief ball. For in-person meetings try massaging the palm of your hands or flexing your toes one by one. You can also practice mindful, deep breathing without anyone noticing.
- Set up a soothing workspace
If work is a source of chronic stress, set it up to be anxiety optimized. Declutter your desk, keeping only what makes you feel good or inspires you. Try adding a supportive mantra, an essential oil diffuser, or a small plant to your workspace. Move close to a window if possible.
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How To Calm Anxiety
If you have anxiety, it can be difficult to keep your mind at ease daily. Add a global pandemic, like Covid-19, and you may feel even more helpless or on edge. Whether you have been diagnosed with anxiety or if youre deeply worried about a particular situation, it can be challenging to find ways to calm anxiety. However, when your mind is racing with your stressors and fears, it helps to take a deep breath and repeat a mantra, according to mental health experts.
To stop anxious thoughts and feel more in control, check out these phrases you can say to yourself to calm your anxiety.
Take A Closer Look At Your Stress
Invisible stress is real, and it can build up into chronic stress. Sometimes we dont notice it because its been there the whole time, like a freckle or mole. However, changing freckles or moles are something you want to take the time to check out, right? Stress is the same.
If you notice a change in your patience or find yourself more easily triggered by slight noises or simple mistakes, consider whether you need to take a break and calm your mind, or if theres something bigger at play. Chronic stress can increase your risk for other mental health concerns, such as depression and anxiety.
If these strategies arent giving you tools to cope, try seeking help from a professional.
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Memorize This Yoga Routine
Yoga isnt only a popular exercise for all ages, but its also gaining traction for decreasing stress, anxiety, and depression. According to research , yoga interrupts stress by producing an effect thats opposite to your flight-or-fight response.
A simple routine can help lower your cortisol levels, blood pressure, and heart rate. One of our favorite 10-minute routines is by Tara Stiles. This routine starts off with a lot of relaxing swaying.
Begin Working With An Anxiety Therapist In Orlando Fl Today
Start working on reducing your anxiety today. A caring online therapist can help you work through your anxious thoughts and behaviors to help you live your best life. Our team is happy to offer support from our Orlando, FL-based counseling practice. To start your therapy journey, please follow these simple steps:
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Email us at: frontdesk@exhalecounselingcenterllc.com, call: 407-720-5976, -OR- to schedule your first session.
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Figure Out What’s Bothering You
The physical symptoms of panic and anxiety, such as trembling, chest pain, and rapid heartbeat, are usually more apparent than understanding just what is making you anxious. However, in order to get to the root of your anxiety, you need to figure out whats bothering you. To get to the bottom of your anxiety, put some time aside to exploring your thoughts and feelings.
Writing in a journal can be a great way to get in touch with your sources of anxiety. If anxious feelings seem to be keeping you up at night, try keeping a journal or notepad next to your bed. Write down all of the things that are bothering you. Talking with a friend can be another way to discover and understand your anxious feelings.
Make it a habit to regularly uncover and express your feelings of anxiety.
How To Calm Down When Stressed
Sometimes it is not easy to calm down when you are stressed and full of anxiety, it seems that you cant even think clearly and your mind is clouded. So how can you get ready for your exam or meet a deadline in your work/job? You simply cant.
If you calmed down, you are also much better to understand your stress and what stressful situation you are experiencing in the first place and you can address the situation much better and help yourself to deal with stress much better in the long run.
So here are simple ways how you can help yourself. There are more than these five ways to calm yourself down, but here we talk only about five of these ways that could help you deal with stress.
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Treatment Options For Patients With Anxiety
There are two primary treatments for individuals with anxiety:
- Cognitive behavioral therapy , which involves learning how to lower anxiety and face distressing situations.
- Medication management with antidepressants, which works well on its own but even better when coupled with CBT.
During therapy, continue to show your support by:
- Asking your loved one what you can do to help them.
- Asking if you can attend a therapy session to learn some skills to better support them.
- Making time for your own life and interests to sustain your energy.
- Encouraging your loved one to try another therapist if the first one isnt a good fit.
Ways To Deal With Anxiety
Everyone has feelings of anxiety, nervousness, tension, and stress from time to time. Here are 5 ways to help manage them:
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