Mindfulness practices to pull yourself out of an anxiety loop

When we experience anxiety and overwhelm, one of the most effective ways to feel better is to recenter and come back to the present. Unfortunately, anxiety and overwhelm often make that prospect feel extremely difficult. I recommend doing some trial and error to find which coping strategies work best for you, so you have some practices to lean on when you start feeling dysregulated. 

1. Mitigate self-judgement by changing the way you speak to yourself.

• Mindfulness means bringing awareness to your present experience without judging it. Notice the difference between:

• “Ugh I’m such a procrastinator” - judgemental, does not lead to further insight, may increase anxiety and overwhelm and become cyclical

• “What is making this task so difficult for me to accomplish?” - open, curious, may lead to further insight
  
  

2. Engage your senses. Introducing a stimulus to your present moment may make it easier to focus on.  The idea with all of these is to interrupt the anxious spiral by pulling your attention away to briefly focusing on something innocuous. There are lots of ways to do this!

• Sight

• Take a moment to make some objective observations (e.g. that pillow is blue)

• Make a point to look at something you enjoy and notice it’s tiny details (e.g. a piece of art, your pet, a photo of a good memory)
   

• Sound

• Close your eyes and challenge yourself to see how many things you can hear around you. You will likely notice how much background noise you have tuned out, and how you are able to selectively focus your attention to tune it back in. 

• Take a few minutes to listen to a song, and really focus on the lyrics and/or production

• Smell

• Take a whiff of whatever is around you (e.g. something cooking on the stove, a candle or perfume, your clean laundry)

• Taste

• Eat something sour or spicy, which can divert attention to the physical sensation

• Touch:

  • Dip your hands in a bowl of ice water for a quick jolt

  • Shake out your body and limbs (you even imagine shaking out the stress)

• The 5 senses exercise is a grounding technique that combines all the senses! I personally find this most helpful when I am outside. Take a few minutes to notice (either say out loud or list in your head) 

  • 5 things you can see

  • 4 things you can hear

  • 3 things you can feel

  • 2 things you can smell

  • 1 thing you can taste

3. Allow the anxiety to live alongside you rather than fighting it. This may seem counterproductive, but it is a core tenant of ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy).

• Battling or avoiding the discomfort gives it more power. It’s tempting to get sucked into the feeling and engage with the spiral. It’s also tempting to engage in unwanted avoidance behaviors that numb us.  What might happen if you just let it exist in your mind and body while you choose to engage with something else?

• This is easier said than done, and is a skill I often work on with therapy clients! If you want support with strategy, click the “Contact” button at the top of the page to reach out and schedule a session.