Anxiety – a quick first aid guide
The first thing to do is to be aware of what is happening in your body and just STOP. Breathe deeply, ask them to stay with you.
Download my “Emotion Release” recording – this link will take you to paypal to purchase (it lasts 5 minutes and costs £5). (I give it out freely to clients so if you would like to book a session please click the button above). It takes you through a brief relaxation and then invites you to count to 90 and in that short time the feeling or emotion WILL have changed or transmuted into a calmer feeling.
The relationship between gut and mood is strong; check out a good probiotic to take – download this worksheet and read through to reflect on what you may require.
Ground yourself. You can do this by using what is known as the 5,4,3,2,1 method:
- Notice 5 things that you can see
- 4 things you can hear
- 3 things you can touch (and touch them)
- 2 things you can smell or like the smell of
- Then take 1 slow, deep breath.
Notice what is happening right now and how different it is to the original thought or feeling. Move, stretch or stamp your feet. Tell yourself you are safe. You could carry a “grounding object” with you, perhaps a stone or a symbol that you know tells you that you are safe.
Be kind to yourself.
Remind yourself where you are, what day of the week it is, the time, the weather, who your closest most supportive friend is (and if you can call on them, do that).
Use an acupressure point on the wrist as below (taken from this website):
PC 6– Starting from the wrist, measure down with three fingers as shown in the picture to the right.
Where your third finger touches the middle of your wrist is the acupoint. Take your thumb and apply firm pressure to this point until you feel some mild discomfort, or gently tap to remind you of a slowing heartbeat. Only apply enough pressure to interrupt the normal blood flow but not too much that it causes pain. Hold this pressure point and gently knead your thumb in a tight circular motion for about 2 minutes. Do this to both wrists and you will feel your anxiety descend immediately. This point is also good for nausea!
HT7– Another point is where your wrist forms a crease with your hand. Hold the acupressure point for about 2 minutes, applying pressure with your thumb. . This point is good for relieving tension.
When the attack subsides write down what happened and how you felt and how you dealt with it.
Lastly please be aware of the gut-brain connection – check this post here regarding this: