How to calm the physical effects of anxiety?
Asked by dee
Answered
11/23/2022
When dealing with anxiety, there are many ways to help calm its effects on your mind and body. Anxiety is a mental and physical reaction to perceived threats. It is meant to keep us from danger and to focus our attention on the problem. Anxiety can become a problem when it affects how we interact and respond to people and situations. Here we will focus on simple, yet effective ways to manage anxiety symptoms.
Being able to identify triggers for anxiety can help when learning how to manage your symptoms. You mentioned having anxiety in front of large groups or when speaking in public. I also challenge you to identify other moments you notice the anxiety symptoms. Where do you feel the symptoms in your body? How does it affect your train of thought? While there is no guarantee way to ensure the anxiety is completely gone, there are techniques that can help lower how it affects you.
One of the easiest ways to help anxiety is taking deep breaths. This technique can be done anywhere, anytime. Try inhaling through your nose for four counts and exhaling through your mouth for four counts. This technique helps with in the moment anxiety. There are many breathing techniques that you can learn and implement.
The night before you can practice relaxation techniques to help calm you down. The day of you can do a progressive muscle relaxation exercise to lower your anxieties. It can help to practice what you will have to say to the public in front of a mirror. Practicing can give you a chance a work on reducing your anxiety before getting in front of the audience.
To recap, preparing for anxiety that you are aware of can help to reduce how it affects you. While it won't remove it 100% immediately, with time and practice it can reduce gradually over time. Practice the techniques even when you don't feel the anxiety, it really helps them to kick in when needed. The saying "practice makes perfect" applies when building new skills to help control your anxiety. I encourage you to explore different relaxation and breathing techniques to help reduce the amount of anxiety you experience when speaking in public.
