How to relieve physical anxiety
What is anxiety and how can I deal with it?
Anxiety is a mix of emotions and sensations that can show up in very uncomfortable ways, both on a mental and physical level. I like to think of anxiety as an alarm system that you need to learn to decipher, and the more you try to ignore or get rid of it, the louder it gets. As Carl Jung, a Swiss psychologist, psychiatrist and essayist said, “what you resist persists”.
Anxiety can be so overwhelming that we might feel the urge to do whatever it takes to stop it. However, the more we try to get rid of it, the worse it gets. This doesn’t mean that we have to get used to suffering from anxiety, not at all. We can and sometimes need to use strategies to regulate.
The way we experience anxiety results from a combination of psychological, biological, social and developmental factors. Nonetheless, it’s a curtain that hides unresolved issues, stagnant emotions and evaded thoughts. Knowing this is key to understanding that, the way to manage anxiety is by getting to its roots, not resorting to strategies that only bring momentary relief.
However, since the physical manifestations of anxiety can become extremely impairing, I want to share with you a list of strategies that could help you regulate it.
Disclaimer
These strategies can help you alleviate anxiety, but they are not a definitive solution. They are a complement to a therapeutic process where you can work on the roots of your anxiety. Its exclusive and excessive use can turn into avoidance and that, in the long run, will increase anxiety and discomfort.
As for strategies, it’s important to have several because what can work for you at one moment may not be what you need at another. Also, I recommend you have quick and easy access to strategies, because when you are experiencing anxiety, they can be difficult to remember. I suggest you practice them when you don’t feel anxious, as this will help you use them more effectively and finally, if you have any doubts regarding physical strategies, first check with your doctor.
And so we begin…
1. Grounding
Anxiety can have you functioning on autopilot, or hyper-vigilant, disconnecting or excessively attentive to your inner and outer world. Sometimes, you can even stop feeling yourself. Grounding techniques allow you to reconnect to the present, like an anchor, giving you back a sense of control. Try 5, 4, 3, 2, 1: a physical grounding technique that helps you be present.
5. Look at 5 things you can see in your environment, describe them.
4. Touch 4 objects, describe the sensations.
3. Listen to 3 sounds, what are they like?
2. Smell 2 things, what do you think of those smells?
1. Try 1 sensation. Example: I have a dry mouth because I’ve been talking a lot.
2. Experience an intense sensation
Something (not harmful) that gives your system a small shock helps change the focus of your attention. Examples: light a scented candle, play loud music, soak in hot/cold water, eat a mint.
3. Get friendly with your anxiety
Something much easier to say than to do… It implies accepting that THERE IS NO WAY TO GET RID OF ANXIETY. Some people biologically come with a predisposition for it, while others have gone through experiences that have made them more sensitive. Regardless, anxiety exists and always will. The key is to learn to understand and regulate it, so that it doesn’t appear when it isn’t needed.
Anxiety has played a fundamental role in our survival as a species. Without it, we couldn’t have been alert and therefore, we wouldn’t have been able to protect ourselves from dangerous contexts and predators.
4. Increase intensity
Example: do intense physical activity like riding a bike, lifting weights, swimming… Offer your body the opportunity to relieve anxiety through physical discharge.
5. Change your body's chemistry
A. Cold exposure: Contact with cold water activates the nervous system’s parasympathetic response (responsible for relaxing the body). 15-30 seconds of cold water on the face and neck.
B. Change your breathing: The goal is for the exhalation to be longer than the inhalation and hold. Example: inhale 4, hold 4 and exhale 8.
6. Don’t fight your thoughts, challenge them
Remember that thoughts can feel scary, but they aren’t dangerous. They are uncomfortable, but not threatening. Don’t believe everything you think. An anxious thought is a moment of worry that will last longer than you would like to, but not forever.
You can ask yourself the following questions:
- What’s the worst that could happen?
- From 0-10 how likely is this to happen?
- If it happens, how could I deal with it?
- Is what worries me being created by intense emotions or by external evidence
- Could it be that what I feel is leading me to interpret reality in a catastrophic way
- What would I say to a friend who comes to tell me that they are going through exactly the same thing?
7. Rhythmic activity
It generates distraction, leading thoughts to connect with other patterns that have nothing to do with arousal and worry. Example: Tapping techniques, dancing or following a choreograph.
8. Vocalizations/gargles/sighs
I consciously activate sounds as my grip to the present. With these actions, I activate the nervous system’s parasympathetic response and intentionally release through sound.
9. Body Scan
Slowly go through the different parts of your body, acknowledging the sensations that arise. You can visualize how these begin to “deactivate”, dimming any feelings of tension, like a light. Don’t judge, don’t stay, move on and recognize. Nothing else. This technique is very useful before going to sleep and when we have awoken at night.
10. Sacred Pause
Allow yourself a moment to breathe and answer the following questions:
- What do I need right now?
- What could I do to feel relief right now?
Try asking yourself these questions while placing your hands on specific spots that have to do with energy activation, such as: on the chest, on the neck, on the eyes or resting on the belly/abdomen. Our hands have an enormous healing potential and we can connect to it by placing them on strategic points on the body, where a specific emotion, such as anxiety, may be settled.