The first time I met my psychologist he suggested I try a breathing exercise. I rolled my eyes at him. My problems were huge, I didn't have time for that kind of thing. As if that was going to fix anything. Many years later, I'm the person telling people to try breathing in the face of a crisis.
Many of us are currently experiencing anxiety and ongoing stress. It's important to be able to regulate your nervous system when you get too anxious to think straight, and to take time regularly to de-stress.
Maintaining a healthy nervous system through regular, daily practices helps you to avoid falling into crippling anxiety.
To achieve these two things (reducing anxiety and avoiding triggering it), you need to learn how to activate your parasympathetic nervous system.
Parasympa-what?!? I hear some of you ask.
A Quick But Important Neuroscience Recap
In your body your nervous system has several components that control various functions.
Relevant to stress and anxiety are the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS).
The sympathetic nervous system is responsible for your 'fight or flight' crisis mode.
It prepares your body to take quick action. Blood pressure, blood flow and stress hormones are increased in this mode. This mode is great for getting things done when it's for short periods of time. However, when you're constantly in this state or are so activated that you feel paralysed (freeze mode), it can have detrimental affects on your body and mental wellbeing. Your immune system is lowered in this state, making you more prone to illness.
On the other hand, the parasympathetic nervous system is responsible for feelings of calm and resting.
This is your 'rest and digest' mode. Your immune system is strengthened when you activate your parasympathetic nervous system. Blood pressure, blood flow and stress hormones decrease in this mode and you experience increased feelings of wellbeing.
A basic understanding of how these systems work together helps you to hack them so that you can reduce feelings of stress, anxiety and panic and increase your wellbeing and ability to function in a crisis.
Tips For Reducing Anxiety
First, let's look at how we can reduce immediate feelings of anxiety through activating your PNS.
When you feel anxious with feelings of urgency, pressured thoughts and worry, tension, racing heart and so on it can be helpful to:
1. Notice and name it. Notice the thoughts, physical sensations and how you're breathing.
For example, say to yourself: 'I notice my thoughts are racing,I feel scared, there's a lump in my chest and I feel like I'm barely breathing at all'.
2. Consciously decide that you are going to help yourself now through supportive practices.
Say to yourself something like: 'It's okay that I feel scared. I accept this moment as it is and I have tools I can use to help myself through this. Firstly, I am going to help myself by slowing down.'
It helps to say these sort of phrases in your mind in a sloooooow and compassionate way.
3. Bring further awareness to your breath and body. See if you can relax any tense areas of your body through stretching, tensing and releasing.
This can feel hard to do when you're in 'URGENT!!' mode and your brain is telling you that the world is ending. Remind yourself that slowing down is exactly what you need to do to think more clearly and make better decisions.
4. Apply your PNS activation tools (below). Take a few minutes, or as long as you need, to do an activity/activities that supports your body to move into your parasympathetic nervous system mode.
Your Anxiety Reduction Toolkit
Here are a few of the many ways you can activate your parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) AKA tools for your anxiety reduction kit.
1. Breathing exercises
2-4-4 breathing can be particularly helpful. It is used for managing panic attacks but also helps for general feelings of anxiety.
Breathe in for two counts, hold for four, breathe out for four. Repeat seven times or more. A few rounds of this will alter the oxygen levels in your blood stream and move you into a calmer mental and physical state.
2. Notice the present moment
While breathing gently, name five things you can see, four you can hear, three you can touch, two you can smell, one you can taste.
This has the affect of bringing your mind into the present instead of wherever it is currently racing into the future.
3. Lie on your back with your legs up the wall for to five to fifteen minutes
Lie in a comfortable spot with your legs up a wall for 5-10 minutes and breath gently. Listen to some nice music if you like. Blood flows to your heart and mind calming your nervous system. It's also good for insomnia.
Avoid this exercise if you have any medical conditions such as glaucoma or heart problems.
6. Massage
Even self-massage or massaging someone else helps. Massage releases tension and increases blood flow. The rhythmic aspects of massage have a soothing effect. Massaging someone else is like using them as your personal stress-ball and you have the added benefit of doing something kind. Compassionate acts have been shown to stimulate additional feelings of calm.
7. Meditate using art
As an art therapist I help clients access their PNS through a simple exercise called 'painting the breath'. This is a great exercise if normal meditation seems too difficult for your racing thoughts.
To do this, you need a piece of paper and pen. Draw lines that match your breath in pace and length. Draw one line for the duration of your inhale, draw one line for your exhale. You can do this without picking up your pen, or with two coloured pens, with paint brushes, or whatever way you like. Let it flow. About five minutes of this supports a more relaxed state.
Scribble drawings, mandalas and colouring in books all have a therapeutic and calming effect.
8. Repeat and/or write mantras
A helpful activity for slowing down racing thoughts is to repeat mantras such as 'Slowly, gently' or any words that support you to feel better. Writing out these words with coloured pens in a very slow and gentle way will help slow down your thinking.
9. Dance it out
Put on some music and move in whatever way feels good for you. This can release a lot of the physical tension that builds up with anxiety. Music has a powerful ability to shift our emotional state.
10. Progressive Muscle Relaxation
This is an excellent relaxation tool for reducing anxiety. You can find many versions of these on YouTube or apps like Insight Timer or Mindspace. Here's one progressive muscle relaxation exercise you can do right now.
11. Run cold water over your wrists
This brings relief from cortisol and slows down your blood flow.
Your Ongoing Nervous System Care Toolkit
For dealing with ongoing stress, taking time every day to do activities that activate your parasympathetic nervous system enables you to maintain good health and wellbeing. Daily practices will reduce the chances of you falling into severe anxiety. You can avoid burnout, diseases related to chronic stress, unnecessary arguments with others and bad decisions caused by stress.
Activities for good nervous system care are:
- going for walks
- spending time in nature
- yoga
- meditation
- listening to music
- practicing mindfulness during everyday activities eg. cooking or cleaning
- having a cuddle with a loved one or even a teddy or pillow
- progressive muscle relaxation (as mentioned above)
Reduce pressure on your nervous system
Having good boundaries around your social media and news consumption will stop your nervous system from getting overworked. Through regularly tuning in with your body you can learn to recognise the signs that you are overworking your nervous system. Signs include tension in your muscles, shortness of breath and 'frayed' thought patterns.
Key Takeaway
By practicing good nervous system maintenance you increase your mental and physical resourcefulness, you feel calmer, you can think more clearly and make better decisions.
Consider nervous system maintenance part of your overall health and fitness regime.
What are your favourite calming activities? Comment below and please share this article with anyone who might find it helpful.
PS. As always, if you are experiencing ongoing, debilitating anxiety or panic attacks, reach out to your health care provider for additional support. You can find many anxiety peer support groups online on Facebook and Instagram to help you feel less alone.