Surfing the Wave of Anxiety
Anxiety may be an everyday challenging experience. These resources provide a comprehensive understanding of anxiety, its mechanisms, types, and treatment approaches. The aim of this post is to provide a quick practical guide to coping better with anxiety.
Practical suggestions to cope with anxiety:
A healthy lifestyle. The interplay between sleep quality, healthy eating patterns, and physical activity represents the foundational components of coping effectively with anxiety. Our psychological state is not a separate entity from our physical body. Therefore, a multifaced approach when navigating anxiety is needed [1]–[3]:
Restorative sleep. There is a strong correlation between sleep and anxiety. For instance, low-quality sleep reflected by insomnia precipitates and perpetuates anxiety [4], therefore, addressing sleep quality and patterns is fundamental when it comes to coping with anxiety. This pageprovides a broader understanding of sleep patterns and quick resources to engage in restful sleep.
Nutrition. Personalized dietary plans can aid in creating and promoting healthy metabolic functioning. Research on the gut-brain axis is still in its infancy, however, there are promising studies indicating that healthy eating is associated with reduced inflammation which in turn correlates with a lower level of psychological distress [5].
Physical activity. Walking, running, boxing, functional training, Pilates, or yoga. Any form of physical activity you enjoy is a formidable add-on to your routine that not only helps in coping with anxiety but represents one of the basic components of a healthy lifestyle [6].
Breathing exercises are a great self-regulatory tool when navigating anxiety [7]:
Physiological sigh. Simply inhale air twice through your nose followed by a long exhale. A few "one, two, three" physiological sighs can provide a quick anxiety release. How to do it more concretely? This tutorialshows it. If you are interested in diving more into the scientific background of physiological sigh, The Huberman Lab dedicated this podcastto this topic.
Breathing techniques such as box breathing (inhale for four counts, holding the breath for four counts, exhaling out through the mouth for four counts, and holding the breath for four counts), or diaphragmatic breathing (or “belly breathing”) are two additional great and quick breathing exercises.
The 4-7-8 method (this tutorial suggests breathing in for four counts, holding breath for seven counts, and exhaling for eight counts). This method is also widely recommended to clients as a coping tool for anxiety.
Grounding exercises (exercises that help re-focus/re-shift the preoccupied mind to a mindful experience):
Physical grounding
Walk it barefoot. Take your shoes off and place your feet on the ground by pressing them, or walk with your bare feet in the grass or on solid surfaces. Walking barefoot in the sand is also another amazing physical grounding technique.
Unclench your jaw. When experiencing anxiety, many have a tight/clenched jaw. The objective here is to voluntarily unclench your jaw and relax it. Do it several times. You may notice how well connected the physical and emotional states are.
Shake it off. In eventful moments, when you are experiencing physical symptoms of anxiety like heart palpitations, sweating, or pounding sounds in your ears or at the back of your head, an easy way to ground your body is by shaking your hands and/or feet as hard as you can until you feel the anxiety has subsidized. There is no right or wrong way of doing this, just let your body flow.
Engage in relaxing activities. Let yourself be creative with playdough or clay, build a Lego, do a puzzle, draw, and submerge yourself in the process of baking goods, or gardening. These activities have therapeutic benefits and bring momentary relief from anxiety.
Butterfly method (the butterfly hug or butterfly tapping). A grounding technique in which you cross your arms around your chest and gently tap each shoulder just in the form of a butterfly.