Coping With Anxiety

Anxiety can feel as though it’s taking over your mind, body and soul!

It can feel really crippling, causing you to freeze, it stops you in your tracks. Sometimes it’s so bad, you can’t even do your day-to-day stuff, and don’t get me started about not wanting to be around, see or talk to people!

This can then generate feelings of guilt, because you can’t seem to do the simple stuff. This can then lead to a sense of depression cos you’re feeling so bad about yourself, and the nasty cycle continues.

Here’s some anxiety coping tools I use for myself and some of my clients. These two grounding techniques give you a moment to step away from those anxiety inducing thoughts, decreasing the intensity in which you feel them. You can use them anywhere and anytime you feel you need to.

The 54321 rule and 333 rule for anxiety both involve counting, helping you to focus your attention on something else until your anxious feelings subside.

The 333 rule for anxiety – the number 3 has been associated with mind-body connections, optimism, and good luck… So we are already winning!

Step 1: Three things you can SEE

The moment you feel and recognise that wave of anxiety, take a moment to pause.

Focus on the objects around you, then name three objects that you can SEE. Pay attention to the details of these objects. Notice the shape and colour, this is important, cos it helps you really pay close attention to the present moment and what is visually in front of you.

Step 2: Three things you can HEAR

Once you’ve listed and noticed three things you can SEE, open up your ears. Make a note of three sounds you can hear. This might be traffic in the background, the wind, the rain, water running or birds chirping. Pay attention to the sounds you can hear, are they getting louder or quieter, is there a rhythm?

Step 3: Three things you can TOUCH

Now it’s time to move onto your sense of touch. You can touch the fabric of your shirt or pants, and pay attention to how they feel. You actually don’t have to touch anything if you don’t want to, instead you can tune into your body and choose three body parts to move. You can wiggle your fingers or toes or you can gently tap your fingers against your thighs. Whatever you feel comfortable with.

The 54321 rule for anxiety – follows a similar step-by-step process as the 333 rule, except this grounding technique actually engages all of your senses

Step 1: Five things you can SEE

The moment you feel and recognise that wave of anxiety, take a moment to pause.

Focus on the objects around you, then name three objects that you can SEE. Pay attention to the details of these objects. Notice the shape and colour, this is important, cos it helps you really pay close attention to the present moment and what is visually in front of you.

Step 2: Four things you can FEEL

Now it’s time to move onto your sense of touch. You can touch the fabric of your shirt or pants, and pay attention to how they feel. You actually don’t have to touch anything if you don’t want to, instead you can tune into your body and choose three body parts to move. You can wiggle your fingers or toes or you can gently tap your fingers against your thighs. Whatever you feel comfortable with.

Step 3: Three things you can HEAR

Once you’ve listed and noticed three things you can SEE, open up your ears. Make a note of three sounds you can hear. This might be traffic in the background, the wind, the rain, water running or birds chirping. Pay attention to the sounds you can hear, are they getting louder or quieter, is there a rhythm?

Step 4: Two things you can SMELL

This one can be tricky, but if you can, name two smells around you. If you can’t smell anything, try to think of two smells you really like and focus on what they would smell like.

Step 5: One thing you can TASTE

Maybe you have that coffee after-taste in your mouth, or you can still taste what you had for lunch. If you can’t taste anything, try to think of something you really like and focus on what that would taste like.

You can do these exercises over and over again until you feel the wave of anxiety decrease.

Anxiety doesn’t have to rule your life, you can start to rule your anxiety! Anxiety counting techniques can help you take back that control and help you get to where you want to be.

If you’re experiencing severe anxiety, please reach out to seek the professional help you need (and deserve!).

T x