Exercises To Calm Your Anxious Thoughts
Anxiety can feel overwhelming, leaving your mind racing with worst-case scenarios and spiraling thoughts. While it’s normal to experience anxiety at times, learning to manage it is crucial for maintaining your mental well-being. Fortunately, there are practical exercises that can help calm anxious thoughts and bring you back to a place of calm. Here are a few powerful techniques to try when anxiety starts to take over.
1. Deep Breathing
Anxiety often triggers shallow, rapid breathing, which can increase feelings of panic and stress. Deep breathing exercises are a simple and effective way to calm your nervous system.
How to Practice:
Find a quiet place and sit or lie down comfortably.
Place one hand on your chest and the other on your belly.
Inhale slowly through your nose for a count of four, letting your belly rise as you fill your lungs.
Hold the breath for a count of four.
Exhale slowly through your mouth for a count of four, allowing your belly to fall.
Repeat this process for five to ten minutes, focusing on your breath.
Deep breathing engages the parasympathetic nervous system, which helps lower your heart rate and brings a sense of calm.
2. Grounding Techniques
Grounding exercises are designed to bring your focus back to the present moment, pulling you out of anxious thought loops and reminding you that you’re safe right now.
How to Practice: One popular grounding exercise is the 5-4-3-2-1 Method:
5: Look around and name five things you can see.
4: Notice four things you can feel (the ground under your feet, your clothes, etc.).
3: Identify three things you can hear.
2: Name two things you can smell.
1: Think of one thing you can taste (or imagine a taste).
This exercise shifts your attention from your anxious thoughts to your immediate surroundings, allowing your mind to focus on what’s real and tangible rather than on worries about the future.
3. Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR)
Anxiety often causes muscle tension, which can exacerbate stress. Progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) is a technique that helps reduce this physical tension by systematically tensing and then relaxing each muscle group in the body.
How to Practice:
Find a comfortable place to sit or lie down.
Starting at your feet, tense the muscles in your toes for a few seconds, then relax them completely.
Move up through your body, tensing and relaxing each muscle group—your calves, thighs, stomach, hands, arms, shoulders, and face.
As you release the tension in each muscle group, focus on the sensation of relaxation.
PMR helps your body release physical tension and can be particularly helpful before bedtime to calm both the body and mind.
4. Challenge Negative Thoughts
Anxiety often stems from distorted or irrational thoughts, such as catastrophic thinking (expecting the worst outcome) or overgeneralization (believing one negative event will define your entire future). Challenging these thoughts can help reduce anxiety.
How to Practice:
When you notice an anxious thought, ask yourself:
Is this thought based on facts, or is it just my fear talking?
What evidence do I have that supports this thought? What evidence contradicts it?
What’s the worst that could realistically happen, and how would I handle it?
Is there a more balanced or realistic way to view this situation?
By challenging the validity of your anxious thoughts, you can reframe them in a more rational and less fear-driven way.
5. Visualization
Visualization involves imagining a calming or peaceful scene to distract your mind from anxiety and create a sense of safety and relaxation.
How to Practice:
Close your eyes and imagine yourself in a peaceful place, such as a beach, forest, or mountain. Picture all the details: the sounds, smells, colors, and sensations.
Focus on how relaxed and safe you feel in this environment.
Stay in this visualization for several minutes, letting the peacefulness of the scene wash over you.
Visualization can be a powerful tool for shifting your focus away from anxious thoughts and into a more positive, calming mindset.
6. Journaling
Writing down your thoughts can be an effective way to manage anxiety. It helps you externalize your worries and can provide clarity, helping you identify patterns or triggers that contribute to your anxiety.
How to Practice:
Set aside a few minutes to write freely about whatever is on your mind. Don’t worry about grammar or structure—just let your thoughts flow.
Alternatively, use prompts like:
What am I worried about right now?
What is within my control, and what isn’t?
What would I say to a friend who is experiencing these same worries?
By putting your worries on paper, you can often see them in a new light, making them feel more manageable.
7. Mindfulness Meditation
Mindfulness is the practice of focusing on the present moment without judgment. Regular mindfulness meditation can help you develop the ability to observe your anxious thoughts without getting caught up in them.
How to Practice:
Find a quiet place to sit and close your eyes.
Focus on your breath, noticing the sensation of air moving in and out of your body.
When your mind starts to wander (which it will), gently bring your attention back to your breath without judgment.
Practice this for 5-10 minutes, gradually increasing the time as you get more comfortable.
Over time, mindfulness meditation can help you break the cycle of anxious thoughts and foster a more peaceful, centered mindset.
Final Thoughts
Managing anxiety is not about eliminating anxious thoughts entirely—that’s not realistic. Instead, it’s about learning to respond to those thoughts in healthier, more balanced ways. By practicing these calming exercises regularly, you can build resilience to anxiety and develop skills to manage it more effectively when it arises.
If you find that your anxiety is overwhelming or persistent, reaching out to a therapist can be an important step in learning how to better manage your mental health.
