5 Easy Tips for Anxiety Relief

If you struggle with anxiety, you know that it can be freakin’ HARD to quiet the mind and focus sometimes.

The anxious feelings and thoughts can seem to come out of nowhere.

You’re just sitting there, minding your own business, and all of a sudden your brain is flooded with random thoughts and your body starts to feel uneasy…what gives?

That’s the weird thing about anxiety — it can happen when we least expect it.

In those moments where you’re looking for some quick and easy relief, I’ve compiled 5 anxiety tips that can help:

1. notice & accept the moment

This tip can be SO hard, but it is so important.

When you first start to feel the anxiety come about, take a moment to notice and ACCEPT what is happening. Your gut reaction might be to switch into fight or flight mode (Ah, anxiety…PANIC MODE!) but of course, this will just intensify the situation.

Start by acknowledging that you’re having an anxious moment, but remember that there is no need for judgement. You are human, and anxiety happens. This doesn’t make you “broken” or a burden. It just something that happens.

This will help to take away some of the fear behind what you’re feeling. You can let yourself off the hook because you know that feeling anxiety is a completely normal emotion.

Letting your body know it is safe and ok allows you to take the next steps into bring some calm back to your system!

2. Drink Some cold Water

Kinda weird, huh? But hear me out – it really helps!

When I start to feel the anxiety set in, I always get up and grab a glass of water. It gives my mind and body something to focus on.

I know this may seem “out there,” but I focus on every little sensory act of getting this water.

I focus my attention on how the glass feels in my hand. What the temperature of the water feels like on my lips. I even bring my attention to the water entering my system and flowing through my body.

I always feel simply by distracting my mind, and I’m also doing something good for my body – hydrating!

In addition to the mind distraction piece, the body tends to get overworked and overheated when you’re stressed (anxiety hot flashes, anyone?!) This tip adds an extra anxiety relief element by helping you cool down and hydrate. It’s win-win.

3. Move with a Mantra.

I learned this technique from one of my previous, and amazing podcast guests, Erin Stutland.

Get all that extra and heightened energy out of the body by MOVEMENT. Get up and take a walk (if you can), and while you’re moving, Repeat a calming mantra to yourself.

Some of my favorites include:

• I am fully healed and I am safe.

• I accept what is and I release my fear.

• I am calm, I am grounded, I am protected.

• I trust that the Universe is always guiding me.

Man, even typing those out started to calm my body!!

Now the cool thing is, when you combine movement and a mantra, your body remembers this calm feeling.

It movement helps STORE the mantra within you, and it helps to build mind/body awareness and self-trust.

4. Try progressive Muscle Relaxation

This is a muscle technique that helps relax the body and reduce anxiety.

So often, we are walking around carrying stress within our bodies and we don’t even REALIZE it.

Progressive muscle relaxation helps us to become aware of this built up tension/stress and reminds us what it feels like to relax again. Believe it or not, our body actually forgets what it feels like to be calm! It’s our job to remind it.

When you feel a moment of anxiety coming on, it might be helpful to pay attention to the big muscle groups in the body (arms, legs, shoulders, hands, etc.).

Practice tensing up these big muscle groups for about 5 seconds and then allow the body completely relax. Breathe out every bit of the tension and allow the stress to melt away.

This technique is even more affective when you actively practice it throughout your week! You can give it a try while while driving, walking, typing on your computer… no excuses! 😉

It’s important to continually remind the body what it feels like to soften. Progressive muscle relaxation can help!

5. Visualize your calm

If you have a moment to find a quiet space and close your eyes, I encourage you to practice some visualization. Try to paint a picture in your mind of the calmest and most uplifting image.

Really visualize it and FEEL it in your body. The body can’t tell the difference between visualization and reality…so you will automatically start to feel some shifts in your nervous system.

Have you heard of the “lemon exercise” before??

Let’s do a little visualizing experiment…

1. I want you to imagine grabbing a bright yellow lemon from your fridge.

2. Imagine yourself placing the lemon on the cutting board slicing through the fruit. Notice the perfectly cut and juicy lemon

3. Now, bring the lemon to your lips, noticing the sensations… even how the lemon smells!

4. Finally, open your mouth and take a BITE into the lemon.

Did you notice your salivary glands reacting?! And THAT my friends, is the power of visualization and the body’s response!

When we are hunger and merely think about food, or imagine something sour… our body naturally reacts. Think about what you can do to calm your nervous system and ease anxiety with some simple calming visualizations. The answer is quite a lot!

Hoping these 5 easy tips help in a moment of anxiety. I know that they have really helped me, and over time, these tips have transformed the way my nervous system responds to stressors as a whole.

I’m always here for you, babes! Reach out anytime if you are needing anxiety and/or hormone support <3