Anxiety can significantly and negatively affect your life, work, relationships and happiness. It can appear physically through a stress response lasting a few minutes or days.
The body’s physical response to anxiety can cause symptoms that interfere with daily activity. When that happens, you probably want nothing more than immediate relief. Fortunately, you can take steps to reduce the body’s anxiety response right away.
Deep Breathing
Breathing deeply is an effective way to quickly lower your blood pressure, slow your heart rate and calm the body’s fight-or-flight response. Fortunately, it is a simple and immediate technique you can use almost anywhere.
When you feel the anxiety response kicking in, take a few minutes to breathe deeply. Focus your attention on your breath as you slowly inhale through your nose. Pause for a few seconds before releasing your breath through your mouth.
If you have a few minutes to lie down, try diaphragmatic or belly breathing. Lie on your back with your knees bent. Support your head with a pillow. Place your hand on your stomach and feel it rise as you breathe in. Focus on keeping your chest flat. Purse your lips as you breathe out as if you were blowing out a candle. Repeat a few times.
Cold Exposure
Studies indicate that stimulating the vagus nerve with cold temperatures can reduce the anxiety response. The nerve regulates vital areas, including the sensory, motor, immune and emotional systems.
Try some of the following techniques:
- Wash your face with cold water.
- Spend 30 seconds in a cold shower.
- Place a cold compress on your chest or the back of your neck.
- Spend time outside in cold weather.
Drinking ice water may also help.
Exercise
Exercise can reduce anxiety symptoms in several ways. A workout triggers the body to produce feel-good hormones called endorphins and mood-regulating hormones called serotonin. Regular exercise also lowers your resting heart rate.
No matter which type of workout you perform, you can get the anxiety-reducing benefits exercise provides. High-intensity activities cause a more significant and dramatic release of hormones in the body. Even 10 minutes of high-intensity exercise can produce results.
Yoga calms the body and is another way to reduce anxiety. Yoga stretches also lengthen and strengthen muscles, improving physical health that carries over to mental health.
Research indicates stretching can reduce anxiety symptoms. When you don’t have the time or place for exercise — say, while you’re at your desk at work — try stretching. Just 10 minutes of whole-body stretches can cause you to feel the benefits.
Thought Reframing
Thought reframing is a technique used in cognitive behavioral therapy. It replaces negative thoughts with positive, helpful ones. This technique helps you become aware of how your thoughts affect your feelings. When you shift your thought patterns from negative to positive, you can manage them in more helpful ways. You can also reduce the anxiety symptoms negative thinking can cause.
A therapist can help you learn about thought reframing. In the short term, try these steps:
- Notice your thoughts. If negative thoughts and ideas pop into your head before you can stop them, simply acknowledge them.
- Question the thought. Did you misinterpret what someone said? Did you miss a positive comment? Why is this incident drawing your attention? These questions help you understand your thoughts.
- Replace the thought. Exchange it for something more helpful. Say you got a bad grade on an exam. Instead of focusing on the grade, think of ways to improve it on the next exam or how you can schedule a meeting with your instructor to discuss the test.
Anxiety symptoms can feel paralyzing when they happen. They can stop you in your tracks when they appear suddenly, or they can last for days and overshadow your routine activities. If you have chronic anxiety, a doctor or therapist can help you manage your symptoms. In the interim, try these techniques when you need immediate relief from anxiety.
