Because anxiety is a physical reaction, there are a number of techniques that can help you to deal with how you react to it.
- Breathing – when we’re not anxious, our blood levels are balanced. But when we become anxious our blood levels are unbalanced, we breath in a lot of oxygen but are not breathing out as much CO2. When you start to feel anxious, remember to breathe!
- Specific breathing techniques – there are many techniques that work but the most effective one is the one we remember. Square breathing is a technique that helps to slow your body down, gets your lungs and heart working more regularly. Start by…
- Begin by slowly exhaling all your air out.
- Gently inhale through your nose to a slow count of 4.
- Hold at the top of the breath for a count of 4.
- Then gently exhale through your mouth for a count of 4.
- At the bottom of the breath, pause and hold for the count of 4
- Grounding techniques – these techniques help you to be present when feeling anxious. Take slow, deep breathes, and start by moving through this list:
- Sight – 5 things you can see.
- Touch – 4 things you can touch.
- Hearing – 3 things you can hear.
- Smell – 2 things you can smell.
It’s important to remember that anxiety is an important human emotion as it tells us to act. But what we find scary in an anxious moment, does not need to be as overwhelming as our brain is telling us it is. By applying some of the techniques above, you can learn to face anxiety and overcome your fears. Just remember – breathe!