How to calm down anxiety
Anxiety is a hardwired response to danger. Although it is something we may all experience from time to time, it can become problematic when it consumes you and impacts your every day life. I completely understand how overwhelming it can be. I’m a clinical hypnotherapist and here I share some tips below with you on how to calm down anxiety.
Don’t fight the feeling of anxiety.
Trying to fight your emotions unfortunately doesn’t work. They just shout louder. One of the most powerful things to do is to sit with the feelings with the knowledge that they will pass. Show compassion to yourself like you would reach out to comfort a scared child. The emotional (primitive) part of your brain actually has the intellect of a 3-5 year old. Consequently it is why only when we calm down from a situation that we are able to assess things more rationally. It is therefore useful to notice what is different when your primitive mind is not running the show. What are you thinking and doing instead?
Stop unhelpful thoughts in their tracks – they’re not fact.
Your thoughts will want to send you down a rabbit hole that feeds anxiety. This awareness is super important to stop them in their tracks. Your thoughts are not facts, they are worst case scenarios that your mind is throwing up to get you to fixate on a perceived threat. Imagine your thoughts are like a social media stream where you can swipe past the stuff that does nothing for you. You have the power with which thoughts you choose to listen to. Recognise the patterns in the thoughts that fuel anxiety.
Visualisation.
Visualisation is a powerful tool you can utilise to calm down anxiety. This follows nicely with the example in the previous point of imagining your thoughts are like a social media stream. This is an opportunity to get creative, think about the different ways you can imagine something that provides an alternative way of seeing things. What does calm look like for you? Is it imagining lying on a beautiful beach watching the gentle lapping of waves? Perhaps it’s a mindful wander in the woods or simply having a cup of tea in silence in the garden on a sunny spring day. Other ways to use visualisation is by imagining gaining control of anxiety, this could look like a ball of fiery energy in front of you that you can pour water on to put it out. However you choose to visualise, you can get creative, explore and repeat.
Slow your breathing.
When we’re anxious we tend to breathe faster. One of the most useful ways to calm down anxiety is by slowing down your breathing. Focus on breathing in on the count of 5 and breathing out on the count of 8. If you struggle with the numbers you can do less or more but the most important thing is to make your out breath longer than your in breath. This activates the parasympathetic nervous system (the rest and digest state) and stimulates the vagus nerve. Practising this often will enable you to calm down from anxiety quicker.
Hypnotherapy.
Hypnotherapy is a powerful tool which can help you calm down anxiety and take control back in your life. Using visualisation under hypnosis can help you make changes on a subconscious level and see things differently in a way that is useful for you. It doesn’t involve any tricks or mind control – in fact it’s very much about you gaining control. If you’d like to learn more about hypnosis and how it may help you click here.
Get in touch…
I very much understand how debilitating anxiety can be and would love to help you feel better. Please feel free to get in touch to discuss your circumstances – I offer a free consultation with no obligation. It’s important to me you feel at ease and able to make an informed decision.
Hypnotherapy available in Ely, St Ives Cambridgeshire and online via video call.
