How to Calm Anxiety

Feeling anxious from time to time is a part of life. Occasional anxiety is a normal response to uncertainty about the future, whether that is in the next few minutes, days, or even months. You could be dreading a serious conversation with someone, feeling stressed about a pending career change, or worrying about finances.

Whatever the source of your stress, if you want to learn how to calm anxiety, there are a number of effective strategies you can try.

Ride Out an Anxiety Attack

Anxiety can lead to panic attacks: sudden episodes of intense fear that cause strong physical reactions despite there being no threat. As frightening as these attacks can be, it’s important not to let them control you. Panic or anxiety attacks always pass, and the goal is to try ride out unpleasant feelings rather than distract from or avoid them. Doing your best to remain in the situation and address the sensation head on teaches you how to calm your anxiety – by discovering that nothing bad is going to happen. As the anxiety passes, focus on your surroundings and get back to what you were doing before.

Remember You Can Still Function Well with Anxiety

When anxious feelings arise, put self-criticism aside and tell yourself that it is okay to feel that way: your nervous system is simply activating in response to your circumstances. Remind yourself that you can perform very well with anxiety, and probably have in the past. When trying to figure out how to calm your anxiety, think back to a previous experience when you were overtly anxious and yet managed to do what you needed to anyway.

Make an Anxiety Appointment

General anxiety can take over your day, getting in the way of work performance and routine tasks. If you don’t know how to calm your anxiety and stressful thoughts are threatening to derail your plans, set aside a 15-minute time slot to address them. This will help keep anxiety from spilling over into the rest of your day while training your brain to put aside negative thoughts until you are ready to handle them.

Get Up if You Can’t Sleep

If you are wide awake in bed wondering how to calm your anxiety, get up. Any time you find yourself battling to sleep for more than 10 minutes, move into another room and write down your worries. Go back to bed when you feel tired, but repeat the process of getting up if your mind is still restless. It may take a few disruptive nights to train your brain, but this move can be an effective strategy for anxiety relief, helping your mind associate your bed with rest not stress.

Take a Social Media Break

If you’re in need of some anxiety relief, put down your phone. Scrolling through social media is not only addictive, it has been regularly shown to increase one’s negative feelings about themselves. It can also be viewed as an unrewarding or unproductive use of time, doubling its undesirable effects. Switch the time you spend viewing other’s lives online to something that brings you more joy, whether that’s reading, dedicating 10 minutes to a skill you’d like to improve, or using your internet browsing more fruitfully, such as watching YouTube cooking tutorials or following educational or inspirational role models.

Avoid Stimulants

Culturally popular stimulants like caffeine and alcohol aren’t for everybody, and they can be particularly harmful for those who don’t know how to calm their anxiety. While alcohol may initially appear to provide some anxiety relief, it has been shown to aggravate symptoms over time.

Take a Cold Shower

Although you may consider the idea unpleasant, many people wanting to know how to calm anxiety are turning to cold therapy. While access to a cold plunge or ice bath may be difficult, you can get the same anxiety relief benefits at home with a cold shower. Research shows this can boost dopamine levels and release endorphins – two chemicals renowned for their mood-boosting abilities.

Burn it Off

Sometimes the question you need to be asking is not how to calm anxiety, but how to burn it off.  Feelings of stress sometimes require a more energetic output. If you’re too wound up for activities like deep breathing, try something high energy such as dancing to loud music, any aerobic exercise, or walking briskly outside in the fresh air.

Share Your Feelings with Someone You Trust

Avoiding unpleasant thoughts can make your symptoms worse. If you’re trying to address how to calm anxiety, talk it over with someone you trust. Also consider psychotherapy, which has a high success rate for those with anxiety disorders. Cognitive behavioral therapy has been found to be particularly helpful, and although the benefits require multiple sessions to take effect, individuals often report feeling better after just one.

Almost a fifth of the American population is living with an anxiety disorder. Knowing that your symptoms are both common and normal can help you feel less alone. If your anxiety is long-lasting and affects your day-to-day life, you could have an anxiety disorder. Chat to your healthcare provider about treatment options.