Five Anxiety-Reducing Techniques

Everyone feels anxiety at some point. Whether you’re stressed about an upcoming test or just generally feeling anxious, the same “fight or fight” stress response is the same. While this response can be helpful when in a particular emergency situation, the body will quickly wear out if this stress response is triggered too often by everyday life.

To combat this exhausting cycle, you simply need to activate the relaxation response, which puts the kibosh on anxiety and brings your body back to its natural state. You’ll know the relaxation response has set in when your breathing slows, your heart rate decreases, and your muscles naturally loosen. Keep in mind that it is only in this state that your body can properly heal itself! Simply zoning out on the couch will not trigger the same healing response in your body – the damaging effects of stress need serious reversal that junk food and your TV cannot provide!​





















​While yoga and meditation are the easy answers to eliciting the relaxation response, you can also try these five other techniques for a quick answer to your anxiety:

1. Practice Deep Breathing. To effectively slow your breathing, it makes sense to simply focus on your breath. When you practice deep diaphragmatic breathing, you’ll quickly be able to trigger the relaxation response. Try lying down for a few minutes and take a few deep breaths, letting your chest stay stationary and your belly rise and fall. Doing this for just 20 minutes a day will help you decrease your general anxiety.
2. Hit the Gym. Fight your worries by moving your limbs in a rhythmic exercise, such as dancing, running, the elliptical machine, or anything that gets both your arms and legs moving. You’ll pump up your feel-good endorphins, improve your mood, and distract yourself away from those cyclical negative thoughts.
3. Try Progressive Muscle Relaxation. This exercise involves flexing each part of your body for ten seconds before relaxing and letting go of any tension. In addition to providing immediate stress relief, this technique helps you identify the feelings of tightness and relaxation in different parts of the body. Start with one foot, then the other, working through your core and up your body to your face. Go slowly. It should take about 10 minutes from beginning to end!
4. Use a Calming Visualization. Picture yourself in a relaxing outdoorsy atmosphere – maybe the beach, or a park. Pretend your thoughts are simply clouds in the sky, and watch them pass through your line of vision. Or, take the thoughts that are weighing heavy on your mind, attach them to a balloon, and watch them float away and out of sight. This visualization exercise will help you let go of your thoughts and to realize that you are separate from your thoughts. This realization will help keep you centered and calm.
5. Massage Yourself. Indulge in a little self-care with a little self-massage. You can alleviate muscle tensions, stress and pain by kneading the muscles that are within reach. Try making tiny circles starting at your neck and moving across your face and up to your scalp. Close your eyes and breathe. See how much better you feel already! 

Need more help with handling your anxiety? Call our office at 509-334-1133 to sign up with a counselor that can walk you through it step-by-step.

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