Easy ways to step out of anxiety
There's absolutely nothing worse than living your life in a state of anxiety. For some anxiety comes in quick bursts, but for many it seems to consume them everyday, affecting sleep, work and play. Yes, I said play! We've let life control us, instead of us controlling life, and that's where the problem lies. When we let life happen to us instead of for us, we have become unaware of how our body feels - our shallow breathing, our tight shoulders, our tired eyes. When we really should have enjoyed and made the most of those moments in the day that would have reminded us to 'chill'- that lovely cup of coffee or tea, the smile you got from a passing stranger, that hug from your dog when you stepped out of bed, a kind word or text from a friend. These moments in a day seem to fade into the background when those anxious thoughts keep popping in. Anxiety is the emotion of fear, so if we live our everyday lives in fear, then we are living in 'fight or flight', with the stress hormone running round our body causing all sorts of illness, disease and mental health issues. Have you ever felt fear when you're smiling or caught up in laughter? Have you every felt fear when you are looking at the most beautiful sunset? Have you ever felt fear when you turn up the music and dance around the room and sing? Do you know why? Those beautiful, happy moments are gentle, quiet, comforting, whereas fear is loud, obtrusive and in your face shouting, so it's time to start paying attention.
Here's 10 ways to lift yourself out of anxiety in a moment....
1 Close your eyes, take a deep breath, put your hand over your heart and visualise your happy place - hold that thought for as long as you need
2 Play music.....preferably through headphones.....this is all about you!
3 Meditate using RE...LAX as your gentle mantra
4 Step away from what you are doing (if you can) and go and have a coffee or tea and just smile....yes, even if you don't want to, it will actually change your biochemstry!
5 Hold a Superwoman pose....stand up, hands on hips, shoulders back, chest out and head up.....YOU'VE GOT THIS!
6 Slow your breathing right down and take the breaths deeper
7 Go on YouTube and watch an inspiring video, or listen to an uplifting podcast
8 Whilst sitting at your desk, drop your shoulders, loosen your jaw and relax your eyelids and breathe
9 Rub your hands together for 10 seconds and place them on top of your head, and just feel the energy from your hands go gently through your head and down to your heart. Closing your eyes helps this process
10 Grab a piece of paper, draw a line down the middle of the paper. Now on the left hand side write a list of everything you feel anxious about. Then on the opposite side of the paper, rewrite the negative list with positive language
Children appreciate all that is silly as a matter of course. Their grasp of humour is instinctual, and even the smallest absurdities provoke joyous gales of earnest laughter. As we age, this innate ability to see the value of silliness can lessen as work takes precedence over play, and we have less incentive to exercise our imaginative minds by focusing on what is humorous. When we remember childhood, we may recall the pleasures of donning funny costumes, reciting nonsense poems (I adored Spike Milligan and Pam Ayres - still do!), making up strange games, or playing pretend. This unabashed silliness nourished our vitality and creativity and we can take in this nourishment once again by giving ourselves permission to lighten up and just be silly!
With love and huge amounts of silliness and laughter x