Stress Management: 5 Practical Ways to Soothe your Anxious Mind

Where stress is rooted, anxiety sprouts.

I think it’s safe to say that every single one of us has experienced some form of anxiety at some point in our lives. Throughout this past year, we’ve watched the world struggle with the relentless stress of battling a pandemic, lived through a chaotic political climate, and watched the continuation of a civil rights movement take place before our eyes. With all of this coinciding at the same time, it’s brewed the perfect recipe for both stress and anxiety to flourish.

For this last year, we’ve watched friends and family lose loved ones to CoronaVirus. Maybe you, yourself have lost a loved one to COVID. With businesses shutting down and opening up sporadically, we are watching people we love lose their job stability. People we love and care about are worrying about if they’ll have enough money to feed their children tonight, make rent, or even pay for that much-needed medication.

For some people, stress and anxiety is situational and can tag along when anticipating a change whether it’s good or bad. It may show up in the nerves you feel right before an important test or when getting into a disagreement with a loved one. For others, it can feel as if it courses through their body at all hours of the day and night. It exists on a vast spectrum that affects individuals on all sorts of levels.

This past year has been taxing for every single one of us. Learning tips and tricks on how to deal with stress and anxiety can help you when your mental health is in need of a revival.

In order to cultivate a calm, balanced, and regulated day-to-day life, having these tips in your back pocket can absolutely help!

So, what are some ways you can combat your anxious mind?

1. Move your body for 15 minutes. Everyone has 15 minutes. It’s realistic, doable, and attainable. Go for a walk around the block. Lift something heavy. Get your heart rate pumping by doing physical activity. Exercising, even if it’s for just 15 minutes, is a proven method for fighting off many mental illnesses, anxiety, and depression included. By taking your mind off of whatever it is that’s got you feeling unnerved, and making your body sweat and your heart pound in a different way, you can out trick your mind into re-regulating your nervous system. All it takes is 15 minutes. Move your body, and ease your mind. Get those endorphins pumping.
2. Name it as it is. By telling yourself that what you’re feeling is anxiety, you will be able to re-ground yourself easier. It’s okay to feel anxious. These are taxing times. It’s okay to feel scared when your body feels as if it’s betraying you. Anything you feel when you are experiencing anxious moments is deeply valid. After naming it for what it is, talk to yourself either in your head or out loud. By repeating phrases such as, “I am safe. I recognize that my body is releasing energy in a way that feels scary to me, but I am safe. I will take deep breaths. I will visualize my heart slowing down into a calm state,” you will begin to self soothe. Observe yourself, the sensations you feel, and the thoughts you are having. By practicing self-compassion and self-support, you will begin to build self-trust, and that in itself can be a huge supporting factor in self-soothing your anxious mind.
3. Deep breathing. Have you heard about the 4–7–8 breathing technique before? It’s a breathwork practice that is super simple and works wonders! You will start by taking a nice, slow, deep breath in for 4 seconds, hold it in for 7 seconds, and then breathe out slowly for 8 seconds. This is a proven method that focuses on slowing both your heart rate and your breathing. It works to soothe your fight or flight responses and has been said to work as a “natural tranquilizer for the nervous system”- Dr. Andrew Weil. It is especially helpful for those restless nights when all you can do is toss, turn and watch the time crawl by.
4. Practice some self-care. This means getting enough sleep, showering regularly, eating enough meals throughout the day, and listening to your body. If you’re a fan of essential oils, diffusing some lavender mixed with citrus is great for uplifting and calming energy. By intentionally slowing down to focus on how to care for yourself, you bring back your own focus and energy onto what makes YOU feel good. A long and relaxing bath or shower, eating your favorite meal, reading a favorite book, watching a couple of episodes of your favorite show, having a guilt-free lazy day where you only leave your bed or couch to get snacks and go to the bathroom. Allow yourself to care for yourself and nurture your needs.
5. Practice gratitude. The act of practicing gratitude has harnessed a lot of hype recently, specifically in the mental health fields. This is due to the abundance of studies that have come out with findings of ‘viable and profound’ benefits that gratitude can provide. Just by practicing gratitude for a few minutes a day, you will begin to feel a difference in your overall mental health, physical health, relationships, career, social life, and personality. It’s been proven to make people have a more optimistic view of life, and all it takes is just a few minutes a day. We all have that kind of time, and with the benefits it can rake up, this is one of the most important tools we can use to combat anxiety and stress. This doesn’t mean you have to go out and buy a $15.00 gratitude journal. Although, some of them are pretty cute! A simple pen and paper will do just fine, or you can take note of it in your head.

With all of the tools we can access at our fingertips, I am going to leave it off on one note.

Choose wisely what you allow yourself access to. Our brains and bodies weren’t meant to take in the amount of information we do right now. It is okay to take a break from the news for a little bit, and sometimes it’s necessary. Choose to follow people who make you feel good about yourself. Follow accounts that post good news on a daily basis. It’s so easy to go down the rabbit hole of focusing on everything that’s wrong in the world right now. Take a breath. Although these times feel completely isolating, you are not alone.

If you feel your anxiety and stress symptoms are too much to handle, make sure to schedule an appointment with your doctor or therapist so they can help you navigate the right healing path for you.

Choose to take care of yourself today.