Three Ways to Decrease Your Anxiety
Why am I so stressed out?
If you are like most people, then you probably struggle with regular feelings of anxiety. In fact anxiety disorders are the most diagnosed mental health disorder in 2024 (WHO.int). As a clinical psychologist, this holds true for the majority of the patients I see on a daily basis. Whether anxiety is a daily disruption to your life, or something that’s only an occasional struggle, all of us can benefit from effective practices to help us cope.
Check Your Biorhythms
Often when we feel distressed by anxiety it can be because we feel/believe that we do not have the resources to cope with whatever stressor we might be dealing with at the moment. When our physical rhythms are out of balance, it can make us more vulnerable to mood disruptions.
Often the first area that is helpful to examine is your physical rhythms:
Are you getting 8 hours of quality sleep?
Eating a balanced diet?
Exercising regularly?
If you are like me, life can become so busy that these rhythms quickly become inconsistent or fall by the wayside. When they do, it can easily impact your mood in a negative way.
Creating a new self-care practice with your biorhythms can be a powerful way to combat stress and anxiety. One area that can provide immediate benefits is making improvements to your sleep. Check to see if you are getting adequate quantity, quality and regularity in your sleep. Even something simple like “exercise-snacks” — 1-3 minutes of exercise throughout the day — can provide a helpful boost to your week. Even more beneficial is asking yourself or processing with someone else what might be getting in the way of your self-care.
Move Toward the Stress
Feelings of fear when confronted by danger is a universal human experience. We have all experienced our heart racing, shortness of breath and hypervigilance when we have a close call on the freeway, or encounter a threatening wild animal while hiking, but anxiety is different in that often there is often no actual danger present, but rather the anticipation or expectation of a threat.
Naturally we tend to avoid situations that make us uncomfortable but avoidance of anticipated fear becomes problematic as the natural uncertainty of life can activate this anticipation more and more frequently, and then usher in self-criticism when we realize there is no actual danger present. Avoidance not only doesn’t fix whatever issue we’re experiencing, it can also reduce our life-satisfaction because it eliminates opportunities to experience the positive outcomes of the uncertain situations we’re avoiding.
There are many ways to cope with uncertainty and avoidance. One helpful way to cope is to develop a self-compassion practice through either journaling or meditation. Sitting with our anxious/stressful thoughts in a compassionate way helps us develop skills to tolerate that stress and respond in more flexible ways. If this is difficult for you, therapy can also be a powerful tool to improve your coping.
Develop a Spiritual Practice
Mindfulness has become an increasingly popular tool to combat stress and promote greater wellbeing, but there are also many other spiritual practices that can be beneficial and might be more attractive depending on your religious tradition. One such practice is the Jesus Prayer. Using a prayer that appears several times in the Bible (Mark 10:47) and has been used extensively in the Christian Orthodox tradition, individuals can combat anxious thoughts and feelings by connecting a prayer for divine mercy with their breathing. The beauty of this prayer is its simplicity, which allows you to pray it any time or place. You simply repeat the prayer: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me…”. This is also tied to your breathing, (Breathe in) “Lord Jesus Christ, son of God” (Breathe out) “Have mercy on me.” Practicing this prayer regularly has been shown to decrease daily stress in individuals (Knabb & Vazquez, 2018).
In closing, anxiety is one of the most common mental health issues dealt with today, but it doesn’t have to be something that prevents you from living your life to the fullest. Whether it is adjusting your biorhythms, learning to move toward stressful situations, or by developing a spiritual practice, there are practical changes you can try that can make a difference in your mental health. If this is something you struggle with, consider adding one of these practices to your week or consider reaching out to a trained professional for assistance.
“Anxiety is one of the most common mental health issues dealt with today, but it doesn’t have to be something that prevents you from living your life to the fullest.”
In summary:
Check your biorhythms
Move toward the stress
Develop a spiritual practice
How to Check Your Biorhythms
Examine your physical biorhythms, by asking yourself the following questions:
Am I getting eight hours of quality sleep?
Am I eating a balanced diet with key nutrients?
Am I exercising regularly?
If your answer to any of the above questions is no, consider making small habit changes such as:
Going to bed at the same time every night or waking up at the same time each morning.
Incorporate brain-boosting greens such as kale or spinach into at least one meal per day such as a smoothie, salad or side of roasted broccoli.
Go on a short walk after lunch or incorporate 1-3 minutes of exercise such as stretching, push ups or weights during a morning break.
One Way to Move Through Your Anxiety
Sitting with our anxious/stressful thoughts in a compassionate way helps us develop skills to tolerate that stress and respond in more flexible ways.
Develop a self-compassion practice through either journaling or meditation.
If this is difficult for you, therapy can be a powerful tool to improve your coping.
How to Use the Jesus Prayer to Decrease Anxiety
Using a prayer that appears several times in the Bible (Mark 10:47) and has been used extensively in the Christian Orthodox tradition, individuals can combat anxious thoughts and feelings by connecting a prayer for divine mercy with their breathing.
Simply repeat the following prayer in connection with your breathing: (Breathe in) “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God …” (breathe out) “have mercy on me…”
I know how frustrating and discouraging life can be and sometimes the biggest hurdle is asking for help. Finding the right therapist can also be difficult and I would love to help you in this process however I can. Get in touch if you’re looking to start therapy. Learn more about the services I provide here.
