Your body feels jittery and like you want to crawl out of your skin. Your heart races, your mind goes a million miles a second and you can't sleep. Sometimes, you just wish you could find a little peace - a little reprieve from this constant state of feeling charged up. Anxiety, social anxiety and panic are such difficult things to have to deal with. The good news is that there's hope and some sure fire things you can do to help calm your nervous system.
What grounds you?
Getting grounded, as in, feeling your feet on the earth rather than in your head - starts with your intention at the beginning of each day. The things that help people feel grounded can be different for everyone, so you need to find things that work for you. The first place to start is to think about what you can do each morning, upon awakening that will help you get centered and begin your day with a peaceful intent. Some mindfulness meditation could be helpful, reading from a daily book of inspirational readings, praying, doing some deep breathing, singing, chanting, walking or exercising in a mindful way - these are a few ideas you can begin with.
As far as inspirational reading goes, I personally like these two:
A Deep Breath of Life by Alan Cohen
The Language of Letting Go by Melody Beattie
Whatever you choose to do to help you get grounded in the morning, make it into a ritual.
Our bodies find comfort in repeating the same actions on a regular basis. You will be teaching your body that every morning, you find peace through grounding and it will set you up to stay grounded and calm through the rest of your day.
Here is an example of a morning ritual:
wake
go to comfortable spot in home designated to meditation
light a candle or incense
drink warm lemon water
read from daily inspirational book
say a few simple prayers for help with staying calm through the day
set timer for 5 minutes
practice deep belly breathing for 5 minutes while focusing on flame of candle
After breathing, spend 5 minutes making a gratitude list
blow out candle and go for a 15-minute walk
Something as simple as this can really get your day off to a great start.
Maintaining Balance
As you go about your day, when you notice your anxiety rising, come back to the breath you started with at the beginning of your day.
Feel your feet
This is a tip I learned a while back that always seems to help. As yourself "where are my feet right now?" and then look down at them and see them there on the earth. Wiggle your toes a bit and feel them moving around in your sock. Acknowledge that right now, in this moment, your feet are right there and they are safe, therefore you are safe. When you start to feel panic and your thoughts race, remember to ask "where are your feet?"
Reduce or eliminate caffeine
caffeine is addictive and it's very activating. If you are trying to eliminate anxiety, you might want to consider eliminating caffeine. Many people will say that they use caffeine to help them find energy throughout the day and keep them going. Well, it's a catch 22 because when we use caffeine, our bodies use cortisol to help regulate our adrenal glands. When we over tax this part of our systems, it leaves us depleted and more tired than we started. Therefore, if we eliminate caffeine, we may be a tired for a few days while detoxing, but after your body adjusts, you will find that you have more energy and that you sleep better.
Speaking of sleep
A large part of mental health when dealing with anxiety is getting a good amount of sleep. When we sleep, our bodies do a lot of healing. Our organs do their cleansing, our hormones rebalance and we are able to function more effectively during waking time. Also, dreaming is very important for our psyches to process material from our conscious and integrate it with our subconscious.
Here are a few tips on sleep hygiene:
target bedtime for the same time every night
eliminate all electronics from the bedroom
reserve your bed for sleeping and sexual activity only - don't do work in bed
if you are having trouble falling asleep, get up after 15 minutes and do something non-electronic for 15 minutes, then go back to bed and try to sleep again
create a wind-down routine for the last hour before bed
For more information on sleep hygiene contact me at TiffanySpilove@yahoo.com
Anxiety reducing techniques
Here are some proven techniques to help your body and mind relax:
Tense and release
Tighten every muscle in your body. Start with your head. Tense up your face, your jaw, your eyes, your neck. Tense up your shoulders, your chest muscles, your stomach, your biceps, make fists as tight as you can. Tense up your butt muscles, your thighs, your calves, your ankles, your feet and your toes. Keep all these parts of your body as tense as possible and keep them tensed up for a full 60 seconds. Then release. This tense and release will help your body reduce anxiety symptoms.
Deep Breathing
Put one hand on your belly and the other on your chest. Take a deep breath in and try to push your belly hand all the way out with the breath into your diaphragm. Inhale slowly to 4 counts, then hold for 4 counts, then release slowly for 4 counts and repeat. When you practice breathing slowly, it will help to slow down your heart rate, thus reduce anxiety.
Bi-Lateral Movement
Any kind of bi-lateral stimulation can help reduce anxiety. Here are some examples: walking, biking, shifting weight back and forth from one foot to the other, tapping your thighs alternately. Some others: drumming, swimming, scanning your eyes from one side of the horizon to the other, back and forth. The butterfly hug is an EMDR technique where you hook your thumbs together so that your hands form a figure that looks like a butterfly. Put your hands on your chest and tap alternatively around your collar bone area. This is a great way to self-soothe or find relaxation in times of stress. Here's a video on how to do a different version of a butterfly hug.