WAYS TO RELAX HOW TO

For example, if you’re at work and your boss is making you anxious, gently rub the locket around your neck. This centers you and helps calm your thoughts. Tell yourself that you’re going to touch this object when you’re experiencing anxiety or frustration. When you’re calm, find a “centering object” such as a small stuffed animal, a polished rock you keep in your pocket, or a locket you wear around your neck. When you’re anxious or angry, so much of your energy is being spent on irrational thoughts. This is fine if our life is really in danger, but if it isn’t life threatening, we want our best thinking, not survival instincts,” he adds. “We don’t do our best thinking when anxious or angry we engage in survival thinking. Leave the situation, look in another direction, walk out of the room, or go outside.ĭehorty recommends this exercise so you have time for better decision making. These mantras give us an opportunity to allow rational thought to come back and lead to a better outcome,” Dehorty explains. “When we’re anxious or angry, we become hyper-focused on the cause, and rational thoughts leave our mind. This allows the thinking to shift focus, and you can “reality test” the situation. Dehorty says it can be, “Will this matter to me this time next week?” or “How important is this?” or “Am I going to allow this person/situation to steal my peace?” Just make sure it’s one that you find helpful. Have a mantra to use in critical situations. See your body relaxed, and imagine yourself working through a stressful or anxiety-causing situation by staying calm and focused.īy creating a mental picture of what it looks like to stay calm, you can refer back to that image when you’re anxious. After taking a few deep breaths, close your eyes and picture yourself calm. This tip requires you to practice the breathing techniques you’ve learned. “This has been shown to increase feelings of anger, as it reinforces the emotions because you end up feeling good as the result of being angry,” Dehorty explains. However, you should avoid physical activity that includes the expression of anger, such as punching walls or screaming. in some physical activity serotonin to help you calm down and feel better.” Release the anxiety or angerĭehorty recommends getting the emotional energy out with exercise. What if there’s an earthquake, and it falls into the water?” tell yourself: “There are people that walk across that bridge every day, and it has never fallen into the water.” 4. Instead of “I can’t walk across that bridge.

What’s the worst that can happen? Can I handleĪfter you go through the questions, it’s time to reframe your thinking.

When you experience one of these thoughts, stop and ask yourself the following questions: These thoughts are often the “worse-case scenario.” You might find yourself caught in the “what if” cycle, which can cause you to sabotage a lot of things in your life. Part of being anxious or angry is having irrational thoughts that don’t necessarily make sense. When you label how you’re feeling and allow yourself to express it, the anxiety and anger you’re experiencing may decrease. Admit that you’re anxious or angryĪllow yourself to say that you’re anxious or angry.

WAYS TO RELAX HOW TO

Practice these techniques while calm so you know how to do them when you’re anxious. Once you get comfortable with deep breathing, you can change the ratio of inhalation and exhalation to 1:2 (you slow down your exhalation so that it’s twice as long as your inhalation). Three-part breathing requires you to take one deep breath in and then exhale fully while paying attention to your body. There are various breathing techniques to help you calm down. That’s why taking long, deep calming breaths disrupts that loop and helps you calm down.

Dehorty says this sends a message to your brain, causing a positive feedback loop reinforcing your fight-or-flight response. When you’re anxious or angry, you tend to take quick, shallow breaths. “Breathing is the number one and most effective technique for reducing anger and anxiety quickly,” says Scott Dehorty, LCSW-C, of Delphi Behavioral Health. Here are some helpful, actionable tips you can try the next time you need to calm down.

Ways to relax