Techniques to reduce anxiety

Should you find yourself feeling anxious here are some simple techniques you can use to help reduce these feelings of anxiety:

Immediately effective:

• Take a Physiological Sigh:
  • Inhale deeply through your nose, filling your lungs with air.
  • Take a second, smaller inhale through your nose.
  • Exhale slowly and fully through your mouth, making a sighing sound.  This extended exhalation activates the parasympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for calming the body and promoting relaxation. The Huberman Lab research suggests that physiological sighs can help reduce stress, promote relaxation, improve sleep, lower resting heart rate, and enhance mood.

• Use this acupressure point to help your energy flow more freely in your chest which in turn will help you feel less stressed. This point is immediately effective if you are feeling at all stressed. This video explains how to find the point I would like you to massage – it is call P6 and its function is to open up the chest which in turn is very calming. For acupressure to be effective is it important to be consistent, please find time to massage this point daily – whilst watching telly is fine!

Tools to use on a daily basis to reduce feelings of anxiety:

• Reframe any negative thoughts as it feels better to be in a positive frame of mind. Therefore, if you catch yourself thinking negative thoughts try to accept that you have had that thought but then draw your brain back to the positive by thinking of three things that make you smile. These things do not have to counteract the negative thought you have had – they just must be positive. Trust me, you will feel the difference, and that difference will allow your energy to flow more freely.

• Create a ‘happiness folder’ on your phone of about twenty photos that make you smile. Every time you feel negative, look at those photos – you will be amazed at how it changes how you feel, and in turn, allow your energy to move.

• Write a gratitude journal every night before bed – I promise it really does make a huge difference! Treat yourself to a lovely book, and every night spend a few minutes writing down:
  • Three things that you are grateful for today
  • Three things that have made you smile today
  • Three things you are looking forward to tomorrow

• If you are too tired to write a gratitude journal, use your fingers instead! Tap the tip of each finger with your thumb and with each tap think of something you are grateful for – you have ten fingers’ so you have to think of ten things!

• Cut out refined sugar and caffeine from your diet. These foods cause fluctuations to your blood sugar and insulin levels, which can significantly increase feelings of anxiety.