Dealing With Anxiety? Remember To Tie Your Shoes.

Anxiety can be a tough emotional experience at times for all of us; however, there are some simple, cheap, and effective ways of working with it. Here are some reminders of effective ways to work with anxiety that I have found to be helpful for myself and my clients:

EXERCISE
Exercise is well known to help stabilize all sorts of emotional states. This is definitely true for anxiousness and as little as twenty minutes a day can make a difference.

MOVE
Anxiety contracts and constricts the body and can even move one towards freezing in place. By moving, we help anxious energy move around and be released. Stretch. Jump up and down. Simply getting back inside of your body can be a powerful release from the grip anxiety can hold.

COME BACK TO THE PRESENT
Anxiety is often about the past or future and definitely pulls us away from the present. Look around. Get in touch with your present environment. Feel your feet on the ground. Count the different shades of blue around you. Any activity that brings you back to the present will also help to ease anxious tensions.

KEEP IT SIMPLE
Anxiety often lives in the big picture: I'm going to lose my job; I'm never going to find a relationship; I'm going to breakdown; etc. Thus, turn your thoughts to what you are doing exactly at that specific time and your capacity to do it. Can I eat my breakfast right now? Can I get on the bus to go to work? Can I tie my shoelaces? Usually the answer is yes to the simple act in front of you and the anxiety doesn't live right there.

SUPPORT, SUPPORT, SUPPORT
Isolation and going it alone only increases anxiety. Share what you are going through with friends, family members, neighbors, and strangers. Remember we have all experienced anxiety in some shape and form. Falling into a resting space from others can do wonders for anxiety. Human touch is crucial so don't forget to simply hold someone's hand, get a hug, or ask for your back to be rubbed.

NATURE
Get outside. Go anywhere you feel a sense of calmness: a park, the beach, the mountains, etc. Connection to trees can be very powerful for they symbolize stability and groundedness (two things very important to the digestion of anxious energy).