Melt Your Anxiety With This Five-minute Tip

Here’s the thing, life is stressful. Just the regular old day to day school, friendships and family can be enough to make you feel like you can’t live the way you want to. Tack on to that politics, crime, and financial worries and you might feel like you are barely hanging on. 

The thing is, you are definitely not alone in feeling this way. 

Anxiety is so prevalent, so common, that the US Preventative Task Force recommended that all adults under sixty-five be screened by their doctor for anxiety. The estimate currently is that one in five adults have diagnosable anxiety.

This means being debilitated or overcome by worry in a way that impacts your day-to-day life, your relationships and your career or school. This can also come with panic attacks. If you experience panic attacks, you already know the impact such an attack can have. The physical sensation of not being able to breath, shaking hands, and headaches often accompany the onset of panic. 

There are a lot of tools out there to help you cope with the overwhelm that can take you over. The first step is to notice the beginnings of anxiety creeping up on you. If you can learn what triggers you, then you are on your way to being able to manage anxiety as it comes. 

From a more relaxed state of mind, you can look back to a time you felt extra anxious and think through what amped you up. Once you have your list, you will be more prepared the next time.

My favorite tool for managing anxiety in the moment is belly-breathing. You can do this anywhere and no one even has to know what you are doing. It’s as simple as it sounds. Taking a deep breath and filling your belly up, then releasing that breath through your mouth. If you place a hand on your belly that can help you make sure you really are breathing into your core.

This type of breathing brings life back into your body and gives your mind something to focus on. You don’t have to dip out of work or class because anyone can do this secretly.

Let me know if this works for you, or if you’ve found other techniques that help you too!