Bella Dodds

Stress + Anxiety

Integrative Health Coach

 

3 Tips to Lower Anxiety

Anxiety drains your energy levels while taxing your mental, emotional, physical and spiritual well-being. For many who have anxiety this need to be on top of everything actually stems from a specific source. This source often is connected to growing up in an unpredictable environment with a parent who had a temper or struggled with addictive behaviors, or a child who felt constantly criticized to meet outrageously high expectations. Anxiety also shows up with individuals who experienced an unexpected death of a loved one, or whose parents got divorced. As an adult this unresolved stress creates an anxious inner pulse and need to be in control, do things perfectly or be a workaholic fueled by an often unconscious need to create safety, security and a sense of inner value.

Anxiety is a mental, emotional and physiological symptom – but it is not random and it is not without cause. Your anxiety is linked to an unconscious trigger which signals to your body that you are under threat. When your body receives this information it instantly initiates a survival sympathetic flight, fight, or freeze response. This high-alert state of awareness can feel horrible trapping you in a state of dread and anxiety.

Ultimately, this anxious state has a trigger (that you may or might not be aware of); however, because something triggers your anxiety it is also possible to initiate a change of state or shift your body out of a survival state into a normal conscious state.

First I’ll give you two very easy steps that you can use in 5 minutes to biologically calm your anxiety down:

Tip 1:

Sometimes you have a legitimate reason to be anxious and other times you do not, but either way anxiety interferes with your ability to think clearly, calmly and wisely. When in a stressed state your brain is functioning out of mental and emotional overload. When under such stress you are not accessing your higher functioning brain and you a stuck more in your reactionary reptilian brain.

To get yourself OUT of your anxiety you want to do a CHANGE OF STATE. Doing so will shift your inner physiology and awareness to something totally different getting your mind and emotions into a new rhythm.

This can actually be done in a fun and easy way:

Do 50 Jumping Jacks…yes you are reading me right. 50 Jumping Jacks please!

They are easy and there is no stress attached. If you want you can change it up a bit and do 25 jumping jacks followed by 25 scissors (see video below) If you want you can also throw in your best effort of the running man dance. Main point is to get get out of your head and burn off the static monkey mind panic energy and get your body moving and your breath open and flowing. Now after you have done your jumping jack combination above directly follow up with the next tip:

Tip 2

When you are anxious you are not grounded, your thinking is manic and your breath is short and shallow. When in a calm state your breath becomes even and deep, which alerts the rest of your body that all is okay and safe. Your breath alone can calm your mind and body down. It is an easy tool and can be done in all social situations. After you do the jumping jacks and got your breath naturally open and flowing – let’s channel that newly cultivated energy by directing it into a centered state. Here is a short video of an easy Qigong grounding exercise. (You can do this in a bathroom if you are at work, restaurant, etc.):

*At the end of this exercise say to yourself:

“In this moment I am enough. In this moment I am safe and secure.”

Tip 3

There are many ways you can calm your nervous system down – but ultimately you really want to get to the core root of why you are anxious in the first place. I had anxiety so I know how horrible it is to have to fight a daily battle of trying to calm yourself down just going about your normal tasks.

Have you ever wondered why you have anxiety? Do you know what triggers your inner worry and fear? Logically you may know everything is okay but why is your body feeling something totally different – what is it trying to tell you? The body speaks through symptoms and it is has something to say. Higher Mind Health is about learning to translate those symptoms into meaning and purpose while linking cause and effect.

For example how might these underlying thoughts effect you mentally, emotionally and physically if you are run by them on a daily basis:

“I need to be on top of everything. I can’t mess up. I can’t fail.”

“I have so much to do and I have to do it all today and I have to do it perfectly.”

“I have to make sure everyone is okay and they are not upset. If they are okay I will be safe and secure and I can focus on myself, but only when everyone else is happy can I relax and feel at ease.”

Where might these unconscious beliefs come from?

Why do some people have them and others do not? Can you do something about them or do you have to continue to manage these anxiety inducing triggers for the rest of your life?

If you are curious about tackling the core root of your anxiety by treating the whole person through an inside out approach I would be happy to answer any questions you may have. The first step would be to sign up for a complimentary 15 minute consultation by clicking HERE. I created Higher Mind Health to offer life-changing methods to individuals who truly want to take their power back in life and self-heal from the inside out.

Your emotions can either hold you back and run you or you can harness your emotions as fuel to push yourself forward and change your life.

 

Image: Web iStock
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