How to Calm anxiety in 3 simple steps. Blog by Josie Truelove for Every Home Matters

How to Calm anxiety in 3 simple steps.

Is anxiety affecting you, your family or your friends?

Anxiety is a normal human response to some situations, but the problem is when it starts to control your life.

Anxiety disturbs your peace stopping you doing what you want to and may create physical symptoms such as unwanted emotions, heart racing, shortness of breath and nausea.

The good new is you can recover from anxiety and anxiety disorders. There is help and support available.

Let’s start transforming your anxiety today.

Here are 3 games with 3 interesting facts to bring you more peace and calm.

Play these games, don’t read them and think I’ll do this later try them out, see how it feels when you do.

1. GET PRESENT. 

INTERESTING FACT: Thoughts are always made up of the past and future. You can only ever experience what is happening right now.

All your thoughts create messages to the body to respond to a situation and the body can not tell the difference between a real threat or an imagined threat. (eg a story in your mind)

THE GAME: “Experience NOW.”

Bring your whole attention to these 3 things one at a time and really notice them.

1. Where am I right now?
2. What sounds can I hear right now?
3. What am I physically touching with now?-

Notice how you are experiencing the moment right now.

Use your senses, what you can see, hear, touch, smell and taste to bring your attention from your mind and thoughts onto the moment.

2. BREATHE.

INTERESTING FACT; Breathing is connected to our sympathetic and para sympathetic nervous system. That is our involuntary fight, flight stress response and our relaxation response which send messages to the body. How we breathe will affect our bodies response to situations.

Anxiety and stress can cause us to hold our breath unknowingly and also have fast, shallow breaths. Let’s explore how deep regular breathing can help soothe your nervous system.

THE GAME: Controlled deep breathing.

Sit or lie down comfortably.
Start by breathing out. Now take a long, purposeful, slow breath in, pause and then very gently breathe out slowly. Repeat.

This may seem too simple, but long slow rhythmical breaths will help to calm the nervous system, slow a racing heart and bring oxygen in to the body.

Try breathing right down into your abdomen, place your hand just below your ribs, and feel the belly rising as you breathe in and out.

This helps you to get really present with what your body is doing, encourages a deep breath, and helps to take your attention from stressful thoughts in your mind, to what is happening right now in your body.
You can also count as you breathe in and count as your breathe out. for example. Breathe in 1,  2,  3,  4.  Pause.    Breathe out   4,  3,  2,  1,   Pause. Repeat.

I personally like to count my breath in, then visualise the out-breath going out all the way down through my feet into the earth. Like the roots of a tree going all the way down, firmly grounded.

With practice, you will start to notice when stress has triggered you by the way you are breathing.  This is a technique you can use anywhere at any time to calm down and get centered.
It’s the simple things that work!

3. PERIPHERAL VISION.

INTERESTING FACT: Using peripheral vision activates the parasympathetic nervous system, the relaxation response for the body.

THE GAME: Open up your peripheral vision.
As you are reading this, Relax your gaze and allow your vision to open up wide on either side, to the left and right. Without directly looking, notice what’s in your peripheral vision. It may be slightly blurred, that’s ok, the intention is to just let your vision open up wide as you continue to look at this page.

Notice what it’s like having your attention wide open. What’s happening in your mind? Is it quieter, thinking less?  Is your inner experience more restful, spacious or still?

You can do this exercise anywhere. Gently look forward and expand your peripheral vision. Spending time outdoors rather than focused inwards on one point indoors helps to activate the peripheral vision and the relaxation response for the body, which is what your body would love.

We spend our days going from one inward focus, like working on a computer to a phone to the tv.
If you are spending long periods on the computer, phone, or TV, play this game, open up your vision around the screen and be aware of the space around it too.

Play and try out these 3 games. Every moment is different so try them out at different times in different situations and notice the mind quieten as you apply them.
I’d love to know if the games have helped you.

I’m Josie Truelove, a mindset and calm coach, here to help you let go of your stress, anxiety, and fears and gain more calm, clarity, and confidence in your life. To feel freer and achieve your heart’s greatest desire.

Please contact me if you would like to have a chat and to see how I can help you.

Email: josie.calm@josietruelove.com
Website https://josietruelove.com where you can also sign up for ‘Calming News’ for more top tips to calm.