Tools for Managing Anxiety
During these difficult days, it is really important to look after your own mental health. If you find you are feeling worried, anxious, overwhelmed or even panicked, try some of these quick tools to help alleviate unpleasant sensations and increase feelings of calm and relaxation.
FREE 5 Minute Meditations - listen for fast relaxation
Energise
Healing
Focus on Breath
Mindfulness
Recharge
Energise
Healing
Focus on Breath
Mindfulness
Recharge
Calming breathing
Practice as often as you can, whenever you remember. Doing this simple exercise increases calm and reduces anxiety. Imagine your internal strength is stored in a jam jar inside you. When you feel anxious, the content is reduced but when you practice calming breathing the content fills up. Keep filling up your internal strength with calming breathing.
Additionally, the more you practice this technique, the faster your body activates its relaxation response, when you really need it in times of high stress, anxiety and/or panic.
1. close mouth
(we tend to breathe faster through our mouth, only exacerbating unpleasant sensations)
2. breath in slowly
(visualise soft gentle calm flowing in and down your body)
3. breath out slowly
(visualise tension leaving your nose and body and notice your shoulders relax down) (count "1" in your mind)
repeat 10 times (counting up on each out breath).
Note: If your mind wonders off, just keep re-focusing on your breath. We can't stop our thoughts but we can choose what we focus on.
Practice as often as you can, whenever you remember. Doing this simple exercise increases calm and reduces anxiety. Imagine your internal strength is stored in a jam jar inside you. When you feel anxious, the content is reduced but when you practice calming breathing the content fills up. Keep filling up your internal strength with calming breathing.
Additionally, the more you practice this technique, the faster your body activates its relaxation response, when you really need it in times of high stress, anxiety and/or panic.
1. close mouth
(we tend to breathe faster through our mouth, only exacerbating unpleasant sensations)
2. breath in slowly
(visualise soft gentle calm flowing in and down your body)
3. breath out slowly
(visualise tension leaving your nose and body and notice your shoulders relax down) (count "1" in your mind)
repeat 10 times (counting up on each out breath).
Note: If your mind wonders off, just keep re-focusing on your breath. We can't stop our thoughts but we can choose what we focus on.
Quick Mindfulness Practice
to stop the "what if?" thinking or reliving past events
Whatever you are doing:
Use this physical awareness to anchor yourself into the present moment and remind yourself you only need to cope in this moment.
Say to yourself "I am okay in this moment".
to stop the "what if?" thinking or reliving past events
Whatever you are doing:
- Feel your feet on the floor;
- Notice your legs;
- Let the muscles in your tummy relax;
- Relax your shoulders;
- Relax your jaw;
- Notice your breath in and out;
- Don't try to fight things the way they are, simply just try to accept them in this moment.
Use this physical awareness to anchor yourself into the present moment and remind yourself you only need to cope in this moment.
Say to yourself "I am okay in this moment".
Affirmations
Create positive statements to help you maintain a positive frame of mind. This also helps to stop panicky thoughts slipping in.
Examples of this might be "I am okay", "I am doing all I can", "I will be okay", "I can do this" and "I'm doing really well".
Repeat the statements to yourself as often as you can and particularly when you are feeling overwhelmed.
Create positive statements to help you maintain a positive frame of mind. This also helps to stop panicky thoughts slipping in.
Examples of this might be "I am okay", "I am doing all I can", "I will be okay", "I can do this" and "I'm doing really well".
Repeat the statements to yourself as often as you can and particularly when you are feeling overwhelmed.
Anchor feelings of inner strength
this NLP technique will help you draw on your inner strength when you need it
10. Imagine your God or the power of the universe or the love of your family or all of those things, pouring strength into you. See it as fiery white energy. Breathe in and really pull in all that power. Double that power and squeeze your thumb and finger together.
Repeat daily if you can, to strengthen the anchor.
Whenever you want to draw on your inner strength. Trigger this anchor by pressing thumb and finger together.
this NLP technique will help you draw on your inner strength when you need it
- Remember a time when you felt really strong and powerful.
- Recall the time with the sights, sounds and feeling you felt then.
- Try as hard as you can to feel as powerful as you possibly can and squeeze your thumb and finger together for 5 seconds.
- Let your mind go blank.
- Recall another time when you felt really strong and powerful.
- Recall the time with the sights, sounds and feeling you felt then.
- Try as hard as you can to feel as powerful as you possibly can and squeeze your thumb and finger together for 5 seconds.
- Remember the powerful memory.
- Squeeze your thumb and finger together for 5 seconds.
10. Imagine your God or the power of the universe or the love of your family or all of those things, pouring strength into you. See it as fiery white energy. Breathe in and really pull in all that power. Double that power and squeeze your thumb and finger together.
Repeat daily if you can, to strengthen the anchor.
Whenever you want to draw on your inner strength. Trigger this anchor by pressing thumb and finger together.
Calming Wheel
When you feel panic in your chest/tummy. Imagine a red wheel turning up through your tummy out through your chest, round and round. Now make the wheel a calming colour, such as blue and make the wheel stop and turn the other way. You will instantly feel that feeling in your chest reduce.
When you feel panic in your chest/tummy. Imagine a red wheel turning up through your tummy out through your chest, round and round. Now make the wheel a calming colour, such as blue and make the wheel stop and turn the other way. You will instantly feel that feeling in your chest reduce.
Visualise letting go
of all the unpleasant things you have seen, felt or thought that day
of all the unpleasant things you have seen, felt or thought that day
- Close your eyes.
- Imagine standing at your favourite beach (notice sights, sounds, smells).
- Feet immersed in the water as in flows in and out.
- Cup your hands in front of you, as if to receive something.
- Now imagine all the words, pictures, sounds, emotions of the day, flowing down through your arms and filling up your cupped hands.
- Notice your hands feel heavy.
- Count 1, 2 , 3 and open your hands and release the contents, leaving you lighter and easier.
Self Hypnosis for Sleep
If you are having trouble getting off to sleep or waking in the night, please use resources below from my workshops to learn self-hypnosis for sleep.
Please find the accompanying sound file at the link below:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/aio1kadzzn57u92/Bettersleep.m4a?dl=0
If you are having trouble getting off to sleep or waking in the night, please use resources below from my workshops to learn self-hypnosis for sleep.
Please find the accompanying sound file at the link below:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/aio1kadzzn57u92/Bettersleep.m4a?dl=0
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