Having anxiety is a fact of life. Unfortunately, some people have these persistent, worrying thoughts more often than others. But what are you to do when you hear these anxious thoughts and ideas more often than not? There are a variety of steps you can take to quell your anxiety. Here are five tips you can use in the moment to quiet your anxious thoughts. To learn more, keep reading.
1. Acknowledge Your Feelings, Do Not Ignore Them
No matter how much we may not like our anxious thoughts, they are not going anywhere if we just ignore them. In fact, ignoring anxiety will only give it more power over you which will make your thoughts worse. From here, you can begin to change your anxious thoughts. Rather than perceiving worry about a social event, try and reframe it as excitement. The power to view your thoughts is in your hands, even when it feels like your anxiety will consume you.
2. Work on Grounding Techniques
Grounding is the practice of forcing yourself back into the present moment. It can be achieved through a variety of different techniques. By utilizing your five senses, you can pull yourself out of an anxiety-induced spiral and back into the present moment. A very popular and effective grounding technique is the 5-4-3-2-1 method. It can be achieved by first naming five things you can see, four things you can feel, three things you can hear, two things you can smell, and one thing you can taste.
3. Practice Being Mindful
Practicing mindfulness is another way you can be back in the present moment. This is a little different than grounding, however. Rather than focusing on the physical body, mindfulness focuses on being present in your mind. When in a state of mindfulness, you are able to take a full inventory of your thoughts and feelings. Meditation is a wonderful way to practice mindfulness. There are plenty of forms of meditation you can find online, from guided meditation videos to simple yoga instructions. Taking time to yourself to practice meditation is also a great form of self-care.
4. Set Aside a Time to Indulge Your Anxiety
Despite our best efforts, anxiety is not an easy thing to shake. This means that even when practicing the previous tips to quiet your anxious thoughts, they may not disappear immediately. In situations like this, although it may sound counterintuitive, try planning a time to indulge your anxiety.
Either in a journal, out loud to someone else, or even just in your thoughts: set aside a strict time limit to indulge your worries. For example, you can take five minutes every night to write down all your anxious thoughts throughout the day. Or, if you have social anxiety, plan out an extra ten minutes into your routine before heading out the door to think about your anxiety. This prevents your anxious thoughts from becoming too powerful and overwhelming.
Five: Share Your Thoughts
Even if you feel ashamed or embarrassed about your anxiety, sharing your thoughts with others is important. Anxiety may want to make you withdraw from your loved ones, but the connection you feel with friends and family is a huge help in battling mental health concerns.
Of course, a therapist is also an option to share your anxiety with. Different forms of talk therapy are great clinical options when it comes to treating anxiety. If you feel as if you need additional help from a trained professional, there is no shame in reaching out for help.
I specialize in anxiety treatment. Take a look through my website and contact me to see if we would be a good fit.