Tips and Tricks for Addressing
Anxiety in the Moment

Anxiety can be sneaky and has a way of showing up sometimes when we least expect it.  The following tips can help identify and address anxiety in the moment and reduce it in the long term.  Anyone can practice and master these skills, and your therapist can help you with the process.

From the moment anxiety pops up in our minds, our bodies often enter a “fight or flight” mode, getting ready to handle what feels like a threatening situation.  Our breathing may become shorter, shallower, and faster, sometimes without us even noticing.  When you’re feeling anxious, take a moment to check in on your breath and make an effort to slow and deepen your breathing.  The 4-7-8 Breathing technique, developed by Dr. Andrew Weil, is an excellent method to practice and use in moments of anxiety or tension. 

• Put your tongue along the top of your mouth, against the back of your teeth. 
• Exhale completely through your mouth, keeping your tongue in the same position.  It should make a “woosh” sound as you exhale.  
• Close your lips and inhale through your nose for 4 seconds. 
• Hold your breath for 7 seconds.  
• Exhale again through your mouth, keeping your tongue in the same position, for 8 seconds (your breath should make the “woosh” sound again).  
• Repeat this cycle three more times.  

Moments of intense anxiety can be disorienting and make us feel “hijacked” by thoughts and feelings that seem outside of our control.  “Grounding” is a process by which we return to the present moment by noticing the environment around us and regain a feeling of control.  The 5-4-3-2-1 Grounding Technique is one method of grounding, which follows these steps: 

• 5 things you can see (your hands, a tree, your phone)
• 4 things you can feel (your feet in your shoes, the chair under you)
• 3 things you can hear (traffic on the street, birds outside)
• 2 things you can smell (coffee, soap)
• 1 thing you can taste (gum, fresh air) 

Negative automatic thoughts are the thoughts that go through our minds, often without us even realizing they’re there.  Examples of negative automatic thoughts include, “Nobody at this party is going to like me,” “I can’t do this,” or “This is going to be a disaster.”  These thoughts pave the way for anxious feelings, so challenging them is an important part of addressing anxiety.  

• When you’re feeling anxious, take a moment to check in with yourself.  How does your body feel?  Tense?  Shaky?  Jittery?  Cold?  
• Ask yourself: What am I feeling right now?  Anxious?  Stressed?  Overwhelmed?
• Next ask: What thoughts am I having? 
• Consider making a habit of writing these thoughts down in order to get more familiar with them.  Your therapist may suggest keeping a thought log or journal. 

Automatic thoughts can feel like facts, so taking a moment to think about them from a different vantage point can help us push back and recognize that they may not be so factual after all.  The following questions can help you check the facts and stop negative automatic thoughts in their tracks.

• “What evidence do I have to support the thoughts that I’m having?  What evidence do I have that contradicts the thoughts that I’m having?”
• “What would I tell a friend who was having these thoughts?” 
• “What’s the best case scenario, the worst case scenario, and the most likely scenario?”