Helpful Ways to Reduce Anxiety

At its best, anxiety distracts us from our relationship with God and the truth that he is “Lord of heaven and earth” (Matthew 11:25). At its worst, anxiety is a crippling disease, taking over our minds and plunging our thoughts into darkness. – Billy Graham

Ways To Reduce Anxiety

Most people feel anxious from time to time about things such as an impending test, or an important upcoming event or life change. Anxiety, however, is more persistent. It is often described as continuous, uncontrollable, excessive worry, often related to the anticipation of some future threat. Left unchecked, it can negatively impact your day-to-day life, relationships, and a general sense of wellbeing.

The following are some proven tips and techniques that can help reduce your anxiety naturally. Try them out to see which ones work best for you.

Natural ways to reduce anxiety

Recognize it. Recognizing and acknowledging your anxiety is one of the most effective ways to reduce it. Trying to fight it typically only makes it worse. “The thoughts you resist persist.” (Anxiety and Depression Association of America)

Breathe deeply. Deep abdominal breathing slows your heart rate and can help you calm down and re-center yourself. Focus on taking slow, deep, even breaths, inhaling through your nose and exhaling through your mouth while keeping your thoughts focused on the process. You can’t breathe deeply and be anxious at the same time.

Focus on the present. Anxiety is a future-oriented state of mind. Bring yourself back to what’s happening right now, and stay focused on the present.

Follow the 3-3-3 rule. The 3-3-3 rule is a calming technique that can help you center yourself and regain control by bringing your mind back to the present moment (Chansky).

• Look around you and name three things you can see, paying close attention to the details of each object.
• Listen to the sounds in your environment, and name three things you can hear.
• Move three parts of your body.

Distract yourself. Any action, whether it be taking a walk, doing a chore, or just letting cold running water run over your wrists, can help interrupt your train of anxious thoughts and help you regain control.

Engage your five senses with the 5-4-3-2-1 technique. Killebrew’s 5-4-3-2-1 technique uses your five senses to take you out of your head and ground yourself in the present moment.

5. Sight. Look around you and name five things you can see.

4. Touch. Name four things around or on you that you can touch and feel.

3. Sound. Listen for three sounds you can hear.

2. Smell. Look for two things you can smell. If you can’t find anything around you, walk outside or to another room.

1. Taste. Focus on your mouth, and name one thing you can taste.

Journal. Expressing your anxiety through journaling and writing about it can make it feel more manageable. Keep a record of the things you feel anxious about, and what triggers your anxiety.

Reframe your thoughts. Ask yourself how realistic your worries are; how likely they are, on a scale of 1 to 100, to happen? Separate facts from fiction, edit the distortions and relabel your thoughts with more realistic ones.

Reach out. Share your anxiety with someone you trust and who can help you put it in perspective.

Engage in physical activity. Exercise has been shown to decrease anxiety by diverting your attention away from your anxious thoughts and by helping to release muscle tension. Anything that gets you moving counts. According to the American Psychological Association, regular exercise can enhance concentration and willpower, which can also help reduce some of the symptoms of anxiety.

Spend time in nature. Research shows that spending time in nature can help relieve anxiety, improve your mood, and boost feelings of well-being.

Limit caffeine. Studies have shown that caffeine can alter brain chemistry, causing a spike in adrenaline that may lead to nervousness or jitters, and worsen your anxiety.

Listen to music. Listening to soothing music can lower your heart rate and have a calming effect on your anxious thoughts. So can singing or playing an instrument.

Laugh. Find something to laugh about. “A merry heart does good, like medicine” (Proverbs 17:22). Think of a funny memory, watch a funny show or movie, or read some jokes. Anything to make you laugh. Laughter triggers the release of endorphins, your body’s natural feel-good chemicals, and among its many other health benefits, laughter has also been shown to decrease stress and anxiety.

File it. This technique is particularly effective in helping you fall asleep when your anxious thoughts are keeping you awake at night.

1. Close your eyes and visualize a table with a file cabinet and some folders on it.
2. See yourself pick up each folder and write down the name of an anxious thought you are having on its tab.
3. Acknowledge the thought and how important it is to you, and then file it in the filing cabinet.
4. Repeat the above three steps with each anxious thought that crosses your mind until your mind starts to calm and/or you drift off to sleep.

Consider therapy. A trained mental health professional can help you understand the things that trigger your anxiety and teach you coping mechanisms for dealing with them.

Ways to reduce anxiety God’s way

Pray. Take your anxieties to God in prayer. Thank Him for the things He has done, and ask for His guidance. Philippians 4:6 says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”

God does not promise to change every situation to your liking, but He does promise to replace your anxiety with His peace that passes understanding and to provide you with grace and strength to face each day (Philippians 4:7, Hebrews 4:16, 2 Corinthians 12:9).

Focus on eternal matters rather than on temporal ones. Focusing on earthly matters such as riches and the desires of your flesh will always lead to anxiety. The antidote is to trust God and His Word and to turn your anxieties over to Him. Your Bible is full of God’s promises for you and His directions on how to deal with the trials of life.

However, none of it can benefit you if you don’t believe it. When you turn your life over to Jesus Christ and make His kingdom and righteousness your priority, the Lord will work all things out for your good and His purpose (Romans 8:28).

Recognize your great value to God. God gave His best for you – His Son. “What then shall we say about these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? Indeed, he who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all – how will he not also, along with him, freely give us all things?” (Romans 8:31-32)

Focus on your Father’s providential care. In Matthew 6:25-33, Jesus teaches us that God knows and cares about our physical needs and that if He takes care of the birds of the air and the flowers of the field, how much more will He take care of His people who He created in His image?

Christian counseling for anxiety

Christian counseling involves a combination of Biblical principles and clinical intervention. If you are struggling with anxiety and need more help than what this article could provide, please give me or one of the other faith-based counselors in our online directory a call today. We would be happy to answer your questions and/or set up an appointment to discuss how we can help you manage the challenges you are facing and walk you through the healing process.