10 Simple Strategies to Decrease Intense Anxiety
Please note that this article is for information purposes only. Please consult a healthcare provider for assessment and treatment.
While there are many things that you can do to decrease overall stress and anxiety in your life, this article give you suggestions about how to manage and decrease intense anxiety in the moment it occurs.
1.Most importantly, don’t tell yourself not to panic or that you shouldn’t be feeling anxious. That tends to only make the anxiety worse. Let yourself know that you are experiencing a high level of anxiety and that you are not “going crazy.”
2.Remind yourself that although the anxiety feels intense in the moment, the intensity will always lessen at some point in time. Emotions happen in waves. Your experience of anxiety will reach a high point, and then it will diminish.
3.Remember a time in the past when you had a similar intense experience of anxiety and remind yourself that you made it through. You have survived before, and you will be okay.
4.Refocus your attention on something else—preferably something that will really engage your attention. For example, you might focus on giving a pet attention, or looking at a scene out your window.
5.Practice slow abdominal breathing—breathe in naturally and down into your belly, then exhale slowly.
6.Do some simple stretches and move in synch with your breath.
7.Think of a color that you associate with healing energy. Imagine this color as a light. As you breathe, see the light expanding and moving to all parts of your body.
8.Talk with someone. The feeling of being alone can amplify the feeling of anxiety. For many people, connecting with another person, especially someone whom you feel is caring and supportive really works to decrease the intensity of anxiety.
9.Use music to help shift your energy to a calmer state. Some people like relaxing music or new age music, while other people will use a song that they associate with a different emotional state.
10. Practice mindfulness. That is, be present in any simple activity. Intense anxiety is often from worrying about some imagined future event or outcome. So, one of the antidotes is to focus your awareness in the present moment, in the here-and-now. You can practice mindfulness in any simple activity such as washing dishes, walking, and drinking water.
While there are many things that you can do to decrease overall stress and anxiety in your life, this article give you suggestions about how to manage and decrease intense anxiety in the moment it occurs.
1.Most importantly, don’t tell yourself not to panic or that you shouldn’t be feeling anxious. That tends to only make the anxiety worse. Let yourself know that you are experiencing a high level of anxiety and that you are not “going crazy.”
2.Remind yourself that although the anxiety feels intense in the moment, the intensity will always lessen at some point in time. Emotions happen in waves. Your experience of anxiety will reach a high point, and then it will diminish.
3.Remember a time in the past when you had a similar intense experience of anxiety and remind yourself that you made it through. You have survived before, and you will be okay.
4.Refocus your attention on something else—preferably something that will really engage your attention. For example, you might focus on giving a pet attention, or looking at a scene out your window.
5.Practice slow abdominal breathing—breathe in naturally and down into your belly, then exhale slowly.
6.Do some simple stretches and move in synch with your breath.
7.Think of a color that you associate with healing energy. Imagine this color as a light. As you breathe, see the light expanding and moving to all parts of your body.
8.Talk with someone. The feeling of being alone can amplify the feeling of anxiety. For many people, connecting with another person, especially someone whom you feel is caring and supportive really works to decrease the intensity of anxiety.
9.Use music to help shift your energy to a calmer state. Some people like relaxing music or new age music, while other people will use a song that they associate with a different emotional state.
10. Practice mindfulness. That is, be present in any simple activity. Intense anxiety is often from worrying about some imagined future event or outcome. So, one of the antidotes is to focus your awareness in the present moment, in the here-and-now. You can practice mindfulness in any simple activity such as washing dishes, walking, and drinking water.