3 Quick Mindfulness Practices to Overcome Worry, Anxiety and Panic
If you, like most people, also become upset, angry or frustrated with yourself for feeling worried, anxious or panicky, and resist what you are experiencing, you’ll know that this intensifies the anxiety and only makes it worse. Rather than fight your experience by telling yourself you shouldn’t be feeling what you’re feeling or trying not to feel or getting upset, its important to allow yourself to feel however you are feeling. If you can learn to acknowledge what you’re feeling and allow it to be as it is for that moment, it is more likely to settle down and pass.
Here are three very simple and quick mindfulness techniques you can use to help get you get out of worry, away from anxiety and even halt a panic attack in its tracks.
1. Anchoring
One of the best ways to calm yourself down is to anchor yourself by directing your attention into the lower half of your body. Begin by focusing on your feet and how they feel inside your socks or shoes and against the ground. Expand your attention to include the sensations first in your lower legs and then in your upper legs — do they feel heavy or light? Warm or cool? Tingly or numb? Now include the sensations of your breathing, really relaxing as you breathe out.
This is a great way of anchoring yourself and you can do it any time, with your eyes open or closed, while sitting or even while walking around. Anchor yourself. Then breathe.
