5 Exercises To Do When You’re Anxious
You’re going about your day, running errands or working, and it starts again—the racing thoughts and persistent worry that take up all of your attention. Your heart may be pounding, you might break out in a sweat, and you may feel jittery and on edge. It could feel like danger is near, and you feel nervous and overwhelmed. You may be breathing fast and become exhausted as the day wears on.
Ultimately, you’re left wondering: How can I make it stop?
Anxiety is exhausting but treatable
If this sounds familiar, you likely struggle with anxiety, and you’re tired of the anxiety roller-coaster. The intense nervousness, racing thoughts, and difficult physical symptoms of anxiety are exhausting. The disruption to your life can feel awful, and it can sometimes feel like those around you either can’t or won’t understand what you’re going through.
You’re not alone in struggling with anxiety, even if the experience feels intensely lonely sometimes. It is very important to remember these mental and physical effects are not permanent, and they are treatable.
While therapy, such as EMDR therapy, can help you long-term with your anxiety symptoms, there are many meditation, visualization, and breathing exercises you can use to calm down anxiety in the moment. These handy exercises can help you cope with the physical and mental symptoms of stress, and they often work quickly.
Grounding exercises for anxiety are powerful tools
The exercises I’ve collected here could all be considered grounding exercises. Grounding exercises bring you back in touch with the present moment, to the “ground” where you stand and where your mind can focus in the here-and-now. When the physical and mental experiences of anxiety pull you away into heart-pounding worry and rumination, you can use grounding exercises to pull yourself out of the anxiety vortex.
Consider these grounding exercises to be your consistent friends in times of anxiety. Using them often will let you find the ways they work best for you, and the more you practice them, the more they’ll become easy habits to tap into the next time you’re struggling with anxiety.
Breathing exercises for anxiety: 4-7-8 breathing
Breathing exercises to calm down anxiety are some of the most effective ways to calm your frazzled nervous system when anxiety hits. The shallow, speedy breathing of anxiety is part of your body preparing to fight or flee if it needs to. Breathing slowly and deeply, using your diaphragm to push your belly out when you breathe, communicates to the rest of your body that you are safe. This can de-escalate your entire body’s anxiety response, giving you some relief. Regular practice of breathing exercises, even when you’re not feeling anxious, can make it easier to remember to use them, and make them more effective when anxious thoughts arise.
4-7-8 Breathing
As you practice this breathing exercise, shoot for 4 rounds to start (but feel free to try fewer) so you can get used to the cycle of breathing in, holding your breath, and breathing out. As you develop your breathing, you can expand to up to 8 rounds, but go slowly. This is not a race; it is simply a way to ease your anxiety.
Settle into a comfortable seat with a straight back. Relax your shoulders and your jaw.
Breathe in as you count to 4, through your nose.
Hold your breath for a count of up to 7 (if this feels like too long, try a more comfortable number like 4 to start)
Breathe out through your mouth, making a whooshing sound as your breath leaves your mouth, for a count of 8. Try to control your breathing rate, so it truly takes you through the whole count of 8.
Repeat. Take note of how you feel as you work through this cycle.
Visualization exercise: relaxing landscapes
Alongside breathing exercises to calm anxiety, visualizing a beautiful, relaxing landscape can be a powerful way to ease stress. This is sometimes called “guided imagery”, but can also be entirely self-guided.
Settle in, seating yourself comfortably. Breathe calmly, in and out, through your nose. Now, consider a landscape you particularly enjoy, such as being near a clear stream in the mountains or, my personal favorite, a beautiful, sunny beach. Close your eyes, and imagine it in as much detail as possible.
If you notice your mind wandering back to worries or focusing on the physical manifestations of anxiety in your body, gently return your attention to your visualization. Don’t berate yourself if your attention wanders; be gentle and kind as you navigate anxiety and the new experience of visualization. Enjoy yourself as you create a landscape and a calming, safe space for yourself that you can focus on instead of focusing on the stress and discomfort of anxiety.
Visualize a beautiful beach
Tap into your imagination and your senses with this visualization. Below is an example of a scene you can put together for yourself; you are always welcome to let your mind wander and make it your own. Imagine:
You can feel sand beneath your feet, warm from the sun
You can feel a sea breeze flowing around you, through your hair, and blowing against your skin
You can feel the rays of the sun on your skin, warm and welcoming
You can smell the fresh salt spray and maybe even some sunscreen
You can hear the waves slowly lap at the shore, making a consistent, calming, rushing sound
You can listen to gulls cawing in the distance as they fly over the ocean
You can see a beautiful blue ocean ahead of you, shimmering in the sun.
You can see fluffy clouds in the sky flowing gently in the breeze
You can notice yourself feeling calm, free, safe, and happy.
Meditation: letting anxious thoughts pass you by
A grounding exercise for anxiety that incorporates both breathing and visualization is meditation. Meditation is a practice where you sit silently and engage with your thoughts or guided imagery while breathing slowly and deeply. It is an intentional practice that asks you to still your body and mind while you connect to your breathing calmly and slowly, short-circuiting your fight-or-flight instinct and easing you into a more comfortable, rest-and-digest state.
Meditation can free you from the cycle of anxiety. That said, there is a reason it is called a meditation “practice.” It requires a great deal of practice, in fact, to still your body and guide your mind! Consistency is key, and daily meditation can help you develop the skill so when anxiety strikes, you’re ready.
Mindfulness meditation and radical acceptance of worried thoughts
Take a seat, either cross-legged on the floor with your back to the wall or in a comfortable, straight-backed chair with your feet flat on the floor. Rest your hands wherever they’re most comfortable.
Breathe slowly through your nose. Notice your breathing; how does it feel as it enters your lungs and exits your nose? Sit and observe your breathing for a while.
Allow your thoughts to pass you as if they are clouds in the sky, and you observe them from the ground. Any thoughts, including anxious and unkind, can enter your head and float by you.
Don’t question your thoughts; don’t try to engage with or answer them. Just observe what you’re thinking and allow it to pass you by. Practice acceptance; you are experiencing these thoughts, but they are simply something passing through your brain, not something you must engage with.
As you return your attention to the room where you’re sitting, focus again on your breathing for the last few moments of meditation.
When you’re done, stretch your arms, stretch your legs. Notice if you’re carrying any tension in your body and try to ease it.
Body scan: progressive muscle relaxation
This grounding exercise for anxiety is a personal favorite, as I find it useful in times of stress and as a way to ease myself into sleep. This exercise draws your attention to your body as it is, in the present moment. It allows you to release the hold worried thoughts may have on you and lets you relax your body simultaneously.
This exercise that eases anxiety and panic attacks works best when you practice it regularly. Consider trying it a few times a week to be ready when you genuinely need it.
Scan your body, from toes to head
Settle in, either seated or lying down, and turn your attention inward to your body. Move your attention to your feet first.
As you notice your feet, is there any tension in them? Focus on relaxing your feet, so they can be at complete rest.
Move your attention up your body to your legs, torso, arms and hands, shoulders, neck, and head. Notice how you feel in each part of your body, and try to allow that body part to relax completely. If you need to wiggle or move to facilitate relaxation, feel free. Don’t worry if you can’t quite get to true relaxation; the success is in the effort here.
Once you’ve done a full body scan, rest for a few moments, focusing on breathing slowly. Return your attention to the present, and stretch your arms and legs.
5 senses check-in: what do you feel, taste, see, smell, and hear?
This grounding exercise for anxiety is handy for a quick check-in with your surroundings when you feel anxiety starting to take hold. It is particularly portable and can be repeated as much as needed until your attention is drawn away from the physical and mental symptoms of anxiety and into the present moment and your surroundings. Tap into your 5 senses to connect with your surroundings thoroughly.
What is around you? The 5-4-3-2-1 exercise
Look around you, and notice:
Five things you can see (describe them to yourself in detail. What size, shape, or color are they?)
Four things you can touch (any part of the body can feel the touch)
Three things you can hear (describe the sounds to yourself as you notice them)
Two things you could smell
One thing you could taste (feel free to imagine the taste if it isn’t possible to use your senses here)
I hope these grounding exercises for anxiety will help you as you tap into your senses, connect to your breathing, and focus on your body in the moment. Anxiety is difficult, but know this: you are strong, and there is help available to you. Connect with me at havenfamilytherapy.com/anxiety to find out more ways to eliminate anxiety from your life.
