In a recent training to support the community I shared strategies for more effectively dealing with stress and anxiety. Stress is closely related to fear. Think about it: when we fear something might happen, we get stressed, or we stress over a current situation because we worry what could happen. This is fear. And, anxiety is worry about the future; what we fear might happen. Fear is a common emotion, so it is going to show up. The good news is, we can prepare for how we handle it.

We can more effectively manage the unpleasant feelings of stress and anxiety when they arise because we can gain awareness around the root cause, and we can arm ourselves with some strategies that we have practiced and find helpful. We have all heard the negative effects caused by stress, and anxiety is a common cause of other mental health issues. This is why it is important to shift how we respond. This article includes some of the strategies I shared.

When things begin to feel out of control, take over. Take control of your breath, slowing it down, until you can pause before a long exhale. Remember, there is a brain/body connection. Taking control of your breathing tells your brain to calm down and slows your heart rate. Aim for a breath hold before slowly releasing the breath and work up to a 4 count inhale, 7 count hold, and 8 count exhale. This breath is powerful for lessening anxious thoughts and feelings, and your prefrontal cortex should be available at this point to respond effectively to the situation rather than remaining out of control.

Ground yourself and get in the present moment. You can’t worry about what might happen in the future if you are truly focused in the here and now. I shared a visualization where you imagine yourself slowly walking down a spiral staircase. With each step, you turn off a bright light. Near the bottom of the stairs, where everything is quiet and calm, you walk into your favorite space, light a favorite candle, and inhale the pleasant scent. From this place of safety, notice the beautiful space around you. Name things you notice, and name how you feel. Harnessing this resourced sense of peace, you can return up the stairs with an enhanced sense of calm and control. You can ground yourself in the present moment without a visualization simply by noticing things around you: sounds, sights, textures, something you’ve never noticed before. Naming specific things like this helps distract you from your worry thoughts while bringing awareness to your body and environment. I shared this anxiety strategy with my daughter when she told me how nervous she was before a big test. I encouraged her to find objects in the room that matched her favorite color. Here is a video to support you using this strategy.

Another strategy to try is distraction. Distracting yourself from stress in the short term helps lessen the damaging effects of anxiety. Sometimes when I can’t even think straight, I stop what I’m doing and shift to something else – go for a walk, listen to music, start a different activity. You can do things that help you create more positive emotions while shifting the anxiety, engage the brain in a thinking activity (sometimes I just make a to-do list to write it all down), or engage your senses by stepping outside or lighting a candle.

One of my favorites is soothe the senses. This can be a powerful way to calm anxiety because it engages the body’s relaxation response, which counteracts the physiological arousal associated with anxiety. Experiment with ways to soothe all five senses. Calm anxiety with a soft pillow or weighted blanket and maybe rub your hands or feet for a mini-massage to promote relaxation with sense of touch. I’ve created a YouTube playlist of soothing visuals of beach scenes to increase peacefulness, which addresses sights and sounds. Finally, try scents such as lavender or sandalwood, to engage your sense of smell. Try a combination of soothing senses as you feel anxiety rising to combat the intensity.

These are just a few of the strategies I shared, and my hope is to help people develop effective ways for managing stress and feel more empowered to stay in control of their emotions. You might want to try a combination of these skills and find out what works best for you. I hope these skills support you to Cope Well. Reach out with any questions dr.ashleydeluccia@gmail.com.