5 Ways to Manage Anxiety

Anxiety has a way of making everything feel urgent. Your heart starts racing, your thoughts spiral, and suddenly you're convinced something terrible is about to happen, even when there's no real danger. Anxiety isn’t just in your head. Your body feels it, too.

If you've experienced this, you're not alone. Anxiety is common, and while normal, it can interfere with daily life when it shows up too often or too intensely.

The good news? You can take practical, evidence-based steps to calm your body, interrupt anxious thinking, and build lasting resilience. Here are five approaches beyond the usual "just relax" advice.

1. Use Your Body's Physiology to Calm Your Mind

When you feel anxious, your nervous system shifts into high alert, preparing you to fight or flee. Your breathing quickens, muscles tense, and your heart pounds.

You can signal safety back to your brain by changing your physiology. Start with your breath. Slow, controlled breathing activates the parasympathetic nervous system, helping your body relax. Try inhaling for four, holding for four, and exhaling for eight. Or use a simple three-count breath: in for three, out for three. Focus on making your exhale longer than your inhale.

Progressive muscle relaxation works too. Many people hold tension in their shoulders, jaw, or hands without realizing it. Tense a muscle group for five seconds, then release. Start with your hands, then move up through your arms, shoulders, and face.

2. Train Your Brain to Stay in the Present

Anxiety pulls your attention into imagined future scenarios, spinning "what if" questions. Grounding techniques interrupt that cycle by redirecting focus to your immediate environment using your senses.

Try this: Look around and name five things you see, four you can touch, three you hear, and two you can smell. You can also hold a textured object, like a smooth stone or piece of fabric, and focus on its sensation. Or sip something warm and notice the temperature, taste, and texture. Paying attention to what's real and present pulls your mind away from imagined fears.

3. Build Confidence Through Small Acts of Bravery

Avoiding what scares you strengthens anxiety. Sidestepping anxiety-provoking situations provides short-term relief but signals danger to your brain. Over time, avoidance shrinks your world.

Gradual exposure works better. Start with small, intentional steps. If public speaking makes you anxious, practice a two-minute presentation for a friend. If social situations overwhelm you, attend for 15 minutes rather than a full party. Each small win proves you can handle more than anxiety predicts. Gradual exposure retrains your brain and helps you realize your capabilities.

4. Challenge the Stories Anxiety Tells You

Anxiety tells exaggerated stories: "Everyone will judge you," "You’ll fail," or "Something bad is coming." Because these thoughts feel real, they dominate your mind.

Notice when an anxious thought arises. Question it. Ask: “Is this thought true? What evidence supports it? What evidence contradicts it?” For example, if you think, “I’ll embarrass myself in this meeting,” reflect: Have I embarrassed myself before? What do I do well? How might I think more realistically?

Shift from catastrophic thinking to neutral or balanced thinking. Replace “This will be a disaster” with “This might be uncomfortable, but I can manage it.”

5. Create Structure Around Your Worries

Suppressing anxious thoughts rarely works; it often makes them worse. Giving worries a time and place helps control them.

Set aside 10 minutes each day for a “worry window.” Sit with a notebook or phone and explore concerns. Write them down, consider solutions, and acknowledge your feelings. When time’s up, close the notebook and return to your day.

Tracking patterns (like triggers) and early physical signs (like chest tightness or shallow breathing) builds self-awareness. Anxiety is no longer random; you learn its rhythms and warning signs.

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Anxiety therapy can help you move through your day with ease. Get in touch with us to discuss your options for scheduling your first session.