When Fear and Anxiety Strike: 5 Instant Calming Techniques

Today, we'll explore a few proven calming techniques that can be applied anywhere, even while waiting outside the doctor's office.

When Fear and Anxiety Strike: 5 Instant Calming Techniques

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We've all experienced those terrifying moments of intense, paralyzing fear where it feels like we can't move. These are the moments when we "hear" our heart beating, break into a cold sweat, our legs start trembling, and our head suddenly aches. It's well-known that fear is one of the most intense sensations. It's also a double-edged sword. On one hand, fear can save us from dangerous situations, as our brain signals our body to react under stress. In such moments, we might manage to jump out of the way before a car hits us, for example.

However, fear also has another manifestation. It can be completely unfounded and develop into a phobia that severely disrupts our quality of life. These fears can range from open spaces, closed spaces, dogs, insects, crowds, medical exams, going outside, being alone... The list is long. All these fears are obstacles that require us to understand their root cause and "heal" it. This is a long process that requires a lot of perseverance, self-awareness, and sometimes working with a professional.

Today, we'll focus on the symptomatic manifestations of fear and anxiety to try out 5 proven calming techniques. We'll use the example of the fear of medical exams. All 5 can be applied while waiting outside the office, imagining various fatalistic scenarios.

1. Distraction Techniques

Today, it's easier than ever to distract our mind from negative thoughts. We just need to choose a favorite activity. Here are a few ideas:

Read an engaging book
Play a favorite game on your phone
Listen to a podcast
Watch an interesting movie on your phone
Listen to good music
Take a walk (if the situation allows)
Create something (if you know how to write or draw)
Solve a crossword puzzle or Sudoku

2. Breathing Exercises

When we're stressed, the last thing we want is someone teaching us how to breathe. Many people underestimate this calming technique because they don't think it helps. However, breathing exercises can't be dismissed lightly, as their effectiveness in calming is proven. Here are two of the hundreds of exercises we can choose from:

4x4 Breathing: Inhale slowly through the nose, counting to 4, hold for another 4 seconds, exhale slowly through the mouth, counting to 4, and hold for another 4 seconds. Repeat several times.
4-7-8 Breathing: Another popular breathing exercise on the same principle. Inhale slowly for 4 seconds through the nose, hold for 7 seconds, and exhale for 8 seconds through the mouth. Repeat several times.

3. The 3-3-3 Technique

This is a popular technique for dealing with anxiety and even with panic attacks. It works in similar stressful situations and is easy to perform:

Name 3 things you see;
Identify 3 sounds you hear;
Move or touch 3 things (it could be parts of your body – shoulder, wrist, abdomen, leg. It could also be three other objects).

4. Progressive Muscle Relaxation

Progressive muscle relaxation, also known as autogenic training, is an extremely effective psychotherapeutic method that helps release accumulated tension and is very suitable for various stressful situations and fears. The best part is that it is easy to perform:

Tense each muscle or muscle group for a few seconds, then slowly relax it.
Start from the toes, go through the whole body, and finish at the top of the head. Alternatively, you can start from the head and finish at the toes.

5. Control Your Thoughts

Controlling our own thoughts is actually much harder than it sounds. We can try to have a conversation with ourselves. This conversation can take any form. The only rule is that it should be constructive, positive, and mindful. Returning to the example of waiting outside the doctor's office, here are some suggestions:

Affirmations: Consciously stop all phrases like "I'm scared," "The exam will be awful," "Who knows what diagnosis awaits me," and the resulting scenarios. Instead, deliberately "speak" some pre-prepared phrases/affirmations like: "I will celebrate this good news," "The exam will go great," "I am safe," and so on.
Visualization: This is one of the most pleasant ways to control our thoughts. We can have a pre-drawn "happy place" to return to every time we're tense. We can also "paint" happy pictures with happy people in our minds. The important thing is to visualize positive images, not negative ones. It's also good to add as many details as possible to our images – landscape details, sounds, sun reflections, and even scents.
Meditation: There are countless meditation techniques, fundamentally meaning to relax and free our mind from all the thoughts that keep chasing each other. We can choose the form of meditation we like best. For a start, while waiting outside the doctor's office, we can listen to a guided meditation or simply try counting from 50 to 1.

Each of these techniques could help us cope with stressful situations that make us anxious and scared. In conclusion, here are a few more tips that could help us on the path to a calmer and carefree life:

✅If we have difficulty coping with anxiety, fears, or stress, it's always good to seek professional help from a psychotherapist.

✅Let's not underestimate socialization: We can call our best friend or favorite uncle and talk openly with them about our fears. It will surely be helpful to get a different perspective on the situation.

✅Physical activity: Movement can be a salvation from many mental problems. Sport cleanses the body and mind, helps us enjoy life more, and at the same time, takes care of our physical shape. The most important thing is to find a sport we love, so we don't feel it as an obligation but as a pleasure.