How to Stop the Anxiety Spiral

5 Tips for Overcoming Anxiety

  1. Every morning, begin with awareness of one thing that brings you joy.  
  2. Intentionally create moments of pleasurable experiences. Try to do at least one thing that brings you joy each day.  
  3. When doing that pleasurable thing, intentionally savor every moment of it. Bring full awareness to this experience. What does that joyful thing mean to you? How does it come alive through your senses? What does it look like? What does it sound like? What does it feel like? What does it smell like? What does it taste like?  
  4. When you catch yourself becoming overwhelmed with anxiety: Stop and notice what is happening. Without judging yourself, just notice what your body and your mind feel like in this moment. Remind yourself that you have the choice to think about something else. Practice some deep breathing.  Then, visualize all the details of the pleasurable experience. Recall how the pleasurable experience affected your senses.  
  5. In this way, you can begin to train your brain to take mini vacations from harmful anxiety. Keep practicing until it is second nature.

 

For more tips on how to manage your anxiety, follow the Healing Hearts Blog

Written by: Hazel Navarro, LICSW