Exercises To Calm Your Anxious Thoughts
Feeling out of balance? Here are some ways to gain the control back.
At the heart of anxiety is the inability to feel safe and the reason for that is because we get stuck in our sympathetic state. However, we can learn to influence the state that we are in through practicing nervous system regulation and provide the safety we need in order to gain the control back.
When we learn to regulate our nervous system, we learn to respond appropriately to circumstances and threats such as feelings, thoughts and behaviours. Once the threat is gone, our nervous system should go back to homeostasis. However, when a nervous system is dysregulated, it is reacting to present threats and circumstances on the basis of past stressors rather than current ones. We get stuck in a threat response even when external threats have passed and our circumstances are safe.
Here are 6 ways to learn to regulate your nervous system and to help soothe your anxiety:
Movement
Physical movement is one of the best ways to bring back our nervous system to homeostasis. A few examples would be: wiggling your arms or legs, stretching, walking, running or doing push-ups in your bedroom.
Breathwork and Meditation
Breathwork allows us to access our parasympathetic nervous system, which taps into our “rest and digest” mode. There are many types of breath work and everyone should be able to find one that fits with their needs and physiology. Meditation helps soothe anxiety because it teaches us to observe our thoughts with non judgement and practice being in the present moment.
Hold space for our feelings
Since anxiety is usually layered on top of another feeling or emotion, being able to be mindful of what is underneath anxiety gives us a chance to care for what we are actually feeling. Practising self-compassion with all of our feelings, listening and caring for our inner needs and being aware of our different body sensations are all ways to me more mindful of our emotional state and hold space for our feelings.
Noticing what we can control
When we feel anxious, we tend to crave certainty and control. We also tend to focus on everything we can’t control, which can worsen our distress. In these moments, taking a mental note of what is in our control can be grounding. A few examples of things we can control are: the way we react, our response, our boundaries, the energy we let into our life and how we care for ourselves.
Grounding exercises
Being grounded allows us t come back to the present moments, which anxiety often pulls us out of. Here are some grounding techniques: The rule of 3 (notice 3 things you can see, 3 things you can hear and 3 things you can feel), progressive muscle relaxation, draw imaginary lines around your feet or put ice cold water on your face.
Ritual and routine
Routines gives us something to rely on, something we have control over, and something that allows us to tune into ourselves. It creates safety and certainty. Here are some examples of rituals: Morning journaling, skin care routine before bed, daily gratitude practice, taking vitamins in the morning or reading a passage of a book before bed.
