10 Tips to Beat Anxiety In 5 Min or Less
Feeling anxious is uncomfortable. It is the main reason people seek therapy at Anxiety House.
However, while a course of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy can take 12-16 session here are some “quick tips” that can make you feel more comfortable on your path to recovery?
Try one of these quick anxiety-busters to calm your nerves when stress gets the best of you:
- Stay in the moment. Focus on something small, like the smell of the air, the feel of sunshine on your skin, or the taste of your coffee. Don’t give in to the obsessive thoughts just yet.
- Don’t be afraid of feeling uncomfortable. Resisting anxiety makes it even stronger.
- Distract yourself with a favourite activity. You may be able to forget about your anxiety for a few minutes as you go on a run or watch Netflix; experts estimate that anxiety naturally climaxes and passes within 45 minutes.
- Breathe. Set the timer on your iPhone for five minutes, sit in a quiet place, and focus on your out breath. Breathe in the fear and breathe out the anxiety with each breath cycle.
- Meditate. Meditation is similar to deep breathing and can be used to calm the mind. Use an app on your smartphone to follow guided meditation for five minutes.
- Use progressive muscle relaxation. Set the timer on your iPhone, sit in a quiet place, and tense and relax muscle groups from head to toe for five minutes.
- Feel your strongest emotion. Lock yourself in the bathroom at home or at work and give yourself five minutes to ugly cry, scream, or pound your fist on the wall. Feel better now?
- Remind yourself of the truth. If you have an anxious, uncontrollable thought that you may die in a plane crash on the way to visit family, remind yourself of the statistics; the odds are in your favour.
- Tackle your most pressing task. If something you have been avoiding is causing you anxiety, give yourself five minutes to address the issue or organize the project.
- Write in your worry journal. Take five minutes to write out all of your thoughts—the good, the bad, and the ugly. Use this practice whenever obsessive anxiety spirals out of control.
Source: http://www.blisstree.com
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