Struggling with anxiety symptoms can leave us feeling out of our control, nervous, and worried. Certain situations don’t just cause anxiety. Sometimes anxiety manifests itself as unwanted thoughts. Other times, it’s physiological symptoms, like heart palpitations, muscle tension, or even upset stomach, to name a few.
No matter the symptoms you’re experiencing, there are some helpful mechanisms to regain a sense of calm and get through the day.
Here are 3 simple tricks to help you deal with your anxiety symptoms:
1. Listen to a Few Tracks.
It is said that listening to good music helps to lower cortisol and stress levels bringing happy hormones, better known as endorphins. So you can listen to upbeat music or more relaxing instrumental music as well!
2. Take Deep Breaths
Anxiety often causes us to breathe faster and more shallow breaths. This is especially problematic because this type of breathing makes it feel like you are not getting enough oxygen or breath, which increases anxiety levels and may cause you to spiral even further.
Deep breathing, on the other hand, helps stimulate the nervous system and helps avoid the fight or flight response.
Here’s a simple way to slow down your breathing —
Start by inhaling slowly through your nose and exhaling slowly out your mouth. Repeat this until you start feeling better. This helps to slow the heartbeat and stabilizes your blood pressure.
3. Practice Mindfulness
Mindfulness has become popular over the last few years. The process of being mindful motivates or encourages you once or twice a day to sit in a relaxed position and repeat a sound or a word as you are breathing. Your thoughts may stray; if this happens, just focus on the word repetition. This type of thinking helps to distract your mind from intrusive/negative thoughts.
People are different! What works for you might not work for others or vice versa. Try different relaxation techniques from the ones mentioned above and find what works best for you!
Anxiety can be a very frustrating and difficult thing to experience. If you’re feeling like you may need more help, then please reach out. Our clinical team can assess your symptoms and help you develop a customized treatment plan that’s right for you.
