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12 Tools To Calm The Anxious Mind (#8 Works Every Time)
10. Focus on What Is
Your mind will create stories about who you are, how safe you are in a given situation, and how loveable you are. Note we said your mind “creates” these stories, as they aren’t always true. Due to past negative experiences, our minds become biased in what they believe. For example, if you once ate blueberries on a camping trip and you later broke out in hives, your brain might tell you, “you are allergic to blueberries.” Your brain’s job is to protect you, but is that accurate? Do you know for certain that you are allergic to blueberries? Or did you run into some poison ivy when you were picking them? So when you feel anxious, ask yourself, what is your experience in the present moment? Is this actually happening to you, or is it something that could happen? Notice that these are generally not the same thing, but your mind might try to tell you that they are.
11. Mindfulness
Practice simply watching your thoughts go by, rather than dwelling on them and reacting to them. Picture them as clouds passing overhead. Pay attention to which thoughts make you pause and want to think about them more and which thoughts make you want to run and hide. Is there a way that you can disentangle yourself from your thoughts and simply watch them, rather than react to them?
SEE ALSO: 15 Ways to Feel Happier and Less Stressed Out Every Day
12. Let It All Out
If nothing else seems to work, just let it all out. For some people, trying to control their anxiety only makes them more anxious. This is most likely because the stress your body goes through trying to control anxiety only makes you more stressed. So, rather than try to deal with it, let it go. Go absolutely nuts and indulge. Find a place where you can be alone and feel free to go berserk. Scream and yell, cry and shake your fist at the sky, imagine yourself dancing on someone’s grave, cover yourself with confetti, sing dirty or angry songs at the top of your lungs, rip up an entire phone book (do they still make those?), and throw it into the air. Whatever makes you feel better, go all the way and do it! Don’t break anything important to you and don’t do something you might regret (like streak across your kid’s graduation stage), but be sure you completely exhaust yourself. As long as what you are doing is safe, you will be surprised at just how relaxed you feel afterwards.
There is no magic pill for anxiety. The best you can hope for is to learn ways to manage it when it strikes.
References:
Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov – health impacts of yoga
