Anxiety is something that has been present throughout the majority of my life.
It’s shown up in a variety of forms and ways over the span of my relatively short lifetime, and it wasn’t until fairly recently, like maybe within the last 8 or so years, but much more seriously in the last two, that I’ve begun to acknowledge it, accept it, and work with it, instead of working against it.
Now, I must preface this all by saying that I am by NO means a psychologist or mental health counselor. Yes, yoga encompasses both mental and spiritual components, but please don’t confuse a yoga teacher training with mental health counseling. NOTHING compares to working with a psychologist, psychiatrist, psychotherapist, or any other qualified mental health specialist.
I am just a human being, allowing myself to be a bit vulnerable, and sharing some tools and techniques that have been helpful for me, in hopes that maybe for someone else, it’ll be helpful for them too. And in my sharing, I also hope to remind whoever’s reading this that you are not alone. While we all likely have very different stories and situations, we all experience similar emotions. Like that famous William James quote, “We are like islands in the sea, separate on the surface but connected in the deep.”
So here are my three, go-to practices for managing my anxiety:
Breath work. Daily.
Since early 2020 (because of the ‘you-know-what’) I’ve leaned more into a regular breath work practice and I’ve found that it’s been really helpful for keeping my day-to-day at a more even keel. In my experience, breath work not only focuses my mind on the present moment, but I also feel like it ‘recalibrates’ my nervous system. Each day usually looks a little different: I enjoy practicing a variety of pranayama (yogic breathing exercises) as well as breathing protocols from XPT and Wim Hof Method.
In the moment, when I notice anxiety beginning to creep into my mental landscape, I usually ease my way into a 1:2 breathing pattern, by slowing down each exhale, to help calm my nerves.
For example:
Inhale 4, Exhale 4
Inhale 4, Exhale 5
Inhale 4, Exhale 6
Inhale 4, Exhale 7
Inhale 4, Exhale 8… I usually continue with the 4:8 count for a few more rounds until I notice my body and mind relaxing.
Journaling. No prompts, just “word vomit.”
For me, anxiety looks like being super in my head, consumed by worry, and I find that getting all of those thoughts out of my head and onto paper is a great way of weeding through the nonsense. What deserves my attention? And what doesn’t? Writing things out also provides perspective and clarity. I literally feel lighter after a word-vomit journal session and I try to write every day (but I’m human too so that doesn’t always happen).
NOTING + Speaking out loud.
This is a new one for me, and it felt really weird at first, but I can honestly say that it’s the most liberating release from my anxiety and worry.
Here’s an example: Sometimes I’ll get extreme anxiety (out of nowhere) when I’m driving. It can sometimes feel like a borderline panic attack. So, again, when I notice anxiety creep in I don’t ignore it, I note it. I’ll say to myself, usually out loud if I can, “Oh hello, Anxiety. There you are again.” And then I will use my 5 senses and (preferably) speak out loud to pull myself out of my head and into the now.
Using the driving example, I’ll say to myself, “I am touching my steering wheel, I am listening to music, I feel my seat underneath me, I feel the wind/AC in my face, I am speaking, I am singing, I am breathing…”
Similar to journaling, talking out loud can feel like such a release when you’re always stuck in your head. Another great option is to call someone you trust and talk to them!
As I mentioned before, nothing compares to the support and guidance of a qualified professional. I’ve worked with many therapists over my short 32 years and I’m thinking that returning to talk therapy could be helpful for me again. The techniques that I’ve shared above are simply tools to add to your toolbelt. Pull them out anytime you need to use them.
One last thing that I wanted to mention, something that’s also been helpful for me more specifically over the past 3 years, is getting curious and studying the brain — learning about why our brains operate the way they do. Two books that I’ve found really interested are Unwinding Anxiety by Dr. Judson Brewer and The Body Keeps the Score by Dr. Bessel van der Kolk.