Something about this time of year inspires people to reconsider their poor habits, fitness levels, and messy living spaces. You reduce your intake of alcohol or sugar, sign up for a gym or start jogging, and purge your bookcases and clothes. But why stop at the standard resolve areas with this jolt of energy and reevaluation? There’s a good chance that you need to reevaluate how you handle anxiety as well.
When you are anxious, it might be simple to revert to old, harmful thought patterns. Maybe you’re trying to avoid what’s making you anxious, or maybe you keep telling yourself to calm down. How are things going for you now? Most likely, the unpleasant talk and restless nights have gradually increased. When we attempt to suppress difficult feelings, it might be like trying to stop a wave. This neither slows the wave down nor lessens its force. It sends it momentarily back, guaranteeing its return, says clinical psychologist Sophie Mort.
Because your frontal lobes, the area of the brain in charge of control and being present, are not completely engaged when you are anxious, it is challenging to reason your way out of unpleasant sensations. Dr. Mort continues, “Your automatic pilot is in command. Because of this, it’s challenging to “snap out of it,” as is sometimes advised to those who are uptight.
The preceding two years won’t have helped, even if anxiety is a condition to which we are frequently genetically predisposed and have probably been suffering for decades. According to a research from the University of Queensland in Australia, anxiety cases have risen by 26% worldwide during the pandemic, with women being more vulnerable to it because of the stress of caring obligations. While things may be gradually returning to some semblance of normality, Dr. Mort warns that this is precisely the time when your nerves might suffer.
“In a difficult scenario, all that matters is survival.” The brain is fighting for its existence and in flight or fight mode. It would be harmful to let those emotions in, she says, but when you come out of a period of intense stress, the reality of all you’ve gone through floods in, and that’s when anxiety strikes. I’m experiencing that right now with a large number of individuals, including my family, my friends, and patients at my clinic.
It might be counterproductive to try to quiet such nerves. In order to provide you with new insight into the relaxation techniques that actually work, we went to therapy and the most recent scientific research:
Your boss’s concern over your recent absence began out as a little irritation, but before long, it was playing over and over, triggering your insecurities. “The negative internal chatterbox” is a well-known sign of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), which is characterized by excessive worry. According to psychologist and coach Ivana Franekova, it is quite taxing.
She advises using a CBT approach where you postpone the idea rather than attempting to dismiss or reject it. You may exert greater control over your worrying by designating a set time each day. Save distracting thoughts for later by recording them short on paper or in a voice memo. When will your “worry period” start? ‘Sit away from your workstation or bedroom, in a place you don’t frequently visit. Many times, fears subside or go on their own, but if not, give yourself the designated time – up to 20 minutes – to examine your concerns. Write down the idea, determine whether it is true, then consider whether you can come up with a solution. It requires persistence and a consistent concern time each day, but the practice is immensely liberating.
Take a chill swill. Even though it may be the last thing you want to do when anxiety strikes, Dr. Mort believes it’s one of the quickest methods to ground yourself. The mammalian dive response is triggered by the abrupt temperature change and the contact of your nose with water. This prehistoric response serves as a contrarian survival mechanism to fight-flight. When activated, your heart rate decreases by 10–25%, causing a profoundly soothing change, and blood is returned from the limbs to the heart, reducing muscular tension and shakiness. It effectively puts an end to a panic episode. Maintaining the water’s temperature above 10oC, add ice to a basin of water. Breathe in while holding your face underwater for 20 to 60 seconds. If necessary, repeat.
Go for an ‘awe walk’. We all understand the positive effects of exercise and nature on our moods, but a recent research suggests we take it a step further by focusing on four things we typically ignore, such the starlings soaring above us or the tall buildings in the distance. The latter group imagined seeing relatives, whereas the awe group heard the crunch of leaves underfoot. Additionally, they had more optimistic feelings throughout the course of the eight-week trial, which suggests that amazement becomes better with repetition. According to studies, “turning our focus and energy outward instead of inside can lead to considerable gains in wellbeing.”
Your spouse has been acting a little distant recently, and you get the unsettling impression that they no longer care about you. Without concrete evidence, it’s all too easy to speculate, read minds, and become pessimistic, which is why the CBT approach known as “the court case” or “thought challenge” can be helpful.
Franekova argues that going to court “helps you realize that beliefs are not reality.” It drives you to seek out actual evidence for your intrusive thinking rather than relying only on conjecture. First, pinpoint the “hot idea” that is upsetting you. Look for real data to back up your heated theory (he never complements you; he’s constantly on his phone) then either in your thoughts or on writing. Next, seek for oppositional evidence (he treated you to dinner out last weekend). Consider other options, such as envisioning what a buddy may say (he’s been stressed at work; perhaps you’ve also been distant), before coming to a conclusion. You may halt and confront your worry with the support of this sort of rational thought.
Flunk your way through. Perfectionism is a tendency among worriers, and procrastination can breed greater worry. Giving oneself permission to behave poorly is an implausible remedy proposed by a University of Cambridge research. Dr. Olivia Remes, the study’s author, even spoke about it at a TED talk. According to Dr. Remes, “You may spend hours considering how to accomplish something or what you should do, which can be time-consuming and unpleasant.” Instead, just start by doing it poorly and don’t care about the outcome. This will not only make starting activities simpler, but you’ll also notice that you’re finishing them more quickly. You’ll most likely discover that you’re not doing it that poorly after all, and if you are, you can improve it.
You need to buy food, but your previous trip to the grocery store gave you a panic attack, so you order a delivery instead. However, avoidance is a temporary coping mechanism that fuels worry. According to Dr. Mort, when you avoid something, you aren’t training your brain that you can accomplish it and live. She suggests graded exposure, a method for enduring uncomfortable sensations that is effective for panic attacks and social anxiety. Imagine yourself in the situation, whether it be a tense conversation or the grocery store. Breathing exercises should be done as you carefully consider it (inhale through your nose for a count of four, exhale through your mouth for six). Because everything that goes up must fall down, including emotions, observe your worry as it rises like a wave before plummeting to the ground.
Amazingly, while initiating the stress reaction, your brain doesn’t distinguish between genuine and imagined circumstances. Your brain will believe you have done something before if you see it in great detail, which makes it easier for it to withstand fear. It is possible to gradually build up your tolerance through a process known as habituation. If you’re anxious about going to the grocery store, spend five minutes sitting outside in your car, practice deep breathing, and then go. After then, wait for five minutes outside the door before leaving. After spending five minutes on the first aisle, turn around and go. Building up gradually helps your brain delay the onset of the stress reaction.