How to Reduce Anxiety with Mindfulness

Step-by-Step Guide

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   Step 1: Take a time out.Distancing yourself can immediately reduce your level of anxiety by reducing your number of stressors.

   The less you have going on around you, the more you can be mindful about what is going on within you.If possible, leave the area.
   
   Take a walk outside, go to the restroom, or at least go to a different area in the room.
   
   If you can’t leave the immediate area, then take a time out by closing your eyes and turning down any noise that you can.
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   Step 2: Breathe.

   Focusing on your breathing is a mindfulness technique that reduces anxiety by lowering your heart rate and focusing you internally.There are several different breathing techniques supported by mindfulness including in/out, breath counting, finger breathing, and more.When you are in the middle of an anxiety attack, focus on your breathing by thinking ‘in’ when you inhale and ‘out’ when you exhale.
   
   Each time you exhale try to make it last a little longer.
   
   If you are calm enough, count your breaths.
   
   Count up from one as you inhale, and then up from one again as you exhale.
   
   Try to extend your exhale about two beats longer than your inhale.
   
   If you need to do something to release energy, try finger breathing.
   
   As you inhale, trace up the thumb of one hand with the index finger of your other hand.
   
   Hold at the tip, then trace down as you exhale.
   
   Trace up the next finger as you inhale, hold, trace down as you exhale.
   
   Repeat with each finger., Recognize how your body feels.
   
   Without trying to stop what you are feeling, scan yourself from head to toe and tune in with your body.
   
   Acknowledge any tension, queasiness, aches, etc.
   
   Label your emotions and sensations.
   
   Part of acknowledging what you are feeling is naming the feeling without judgment.Label each sensation and emotion as if you were watching a video of it.
   
   Recognize fear, nausea, dread, anxiety, guilt, etc. for what they are. , Even though you are feeling anxious, you are more than these thoughts, feelings, and sensations.
   
   Remembering this can help reduce your anxiety and then you can direct your attention to more positive thoughts.Try saying to yourself, “I am feeling anxious, but I am more than my anxiety.
   
   These feelings will go away…” , Be aware of how your body feels as the negative feelings fade, as well as how you feel once the feelings are gone.
   
   Allowing the feelings to diminish on their own maintains your mindfulness and removes the pressure to “get over it” which can actually start increasing your anxiety again.You might say to yourself, “I am beginning to feel less nauseous” or “The tension in my shoulders is leaving”.
   
   Don’t try to force the feelings to go away; just be mindful of the process your body goes through as your anxiety diminishes. , Once your anxiety is reduced, acknowledge how you are feeling then focus your mind and energy on something else.Mindfully redirecting your attention to a calming activity prevents your anxiety from flaring up again.
   
   Take a walk, stretch or do something physical to relieve any remaining anxiety you may have.
   
   If you have to return to work, pick one task to focus your attention on and complete it mindfully.
   
   For example, if you have to organize some files, then focus on the sensations of filing.
   
   Notice how the paper feels in your hands, the sounds that the folders make as you flip through them, and the smells of the filing cabinet.
   
   Write in your journal or talk to a close friend.
   
   Pay attention to how you feel as you do these things. , If you feel your anxiety building up again at any time, return your focus to your breathing.Bringing your attention back to your breathing gives you something to think about other than the anxiety-inducing thoughts that you are having and physically calms you again.
   
   Beating yourself up for being anxious again will not help you feel better.
   
   Give yourself time to adjust to new habits, build new skills, and create different ways of thinking.
   
   This takes lots of time and patience.
   
   If you get angry with yourself, be mindful of feeling angry, then change your mind's focus by reiterating patience for yourself and performing a relaxation technique to help alleviate the anxiety.
   
   You might say to yourself, “I’m starting to worry again.
   
   I’m thinking about everything that could go wrong.
   
   I need to breathe.” Take a little more time to focus on your breathing than you did the first time.
   
   For example, if you turned your attention to breathing for five minutes at first, spend seven minutes being mindful about your breathing this time.
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   Step 3: Acknowledge what you are feeling.Recognizing what you are feeling and allowing yourself to experience those feelings rather than trying to stop them can help those feelings to pass.Some studies indicate that focusing on and accepting what you are feeling deactivates parts of the brain responsible for anxiety.Acknowledging how you are feeling also allows you to be a little more objective about the situation

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   Step 4: which can reduce your anxiety by putting your feelings in perspective.

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   Step 5: Reassure yourself.

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   Step 6: Let the feelings pass.

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   Step 7: Redirect yourself.

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   Step 8: Bring yourself back.

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