A blog of lessons for life

In short — When anxious thoughts start to spiral, use one simple anxiety exercise: breathe slowly, ground with your senses, reframe the thought, then move for a minute. The short video below shows each step. Why thoughts spiral Often, one worrying thought triggers the next. For example, mood drops and clear thinking fades. However, you can break this loop early with a few quick actions. Moreover, these simple tools are easy to learn and you can use them anywhere. Need guidance? Try Anxiety Management; alternatively, take the Mental Fitness Quiz, or work 1:1 via Online Coaching. 4 quick resets (watch + try) First, breathe slowly. Inhale through the nose and exhale through the mouth for 3–5 minutes. Therefore, aim for longer exhales to calm the stress response. See the NHS breathing guide. Next, ground with 5-4-3-2-1. Name five things you can see, four you can feel, three you can hear, two you can smell, and one you can taste. As a result, your attention shifts to the present. A brief how-to: URMC. Then, reframe the thought. Ask, “What is the evidence? What else could be true?” In turn, gentle reframing helps you see more than one story. Learn more at Harvard Health. Finally, move for 60 seconds. Walk to the window, stretch your arms, or shake out your hands. Also, small movement releases tension and resets focus. See practical tips from NIMH. Video Video: Anxiety Exercise — Shift Your Thoughts Video summary: In the video, you’ll learn a short “interrupt

Staying in the present moment by focusing gently and without judgment on your current state and surroundings is called mindfulness. Research has shown that mindfulness helps us reduce anxiety by creating a calm state of mind while feeling your thoughts racing and anxiety is building. These are some four easy steps to bring yourself outside your thoughts into the present: The attached video will support this process by guiding you through the four steps. If you feel you need more support or have more questions pls contact me.

Having a safe place —physical or virtual— where you can go to relax and recharge is incredibly important for maintaining good mental health. A judgment-free zone where you can let your guard down and truly be yourself. In this video I will guide you to your safe place in where you can painting a mental picture of a place that makes you feel relaxed and calms your brain and body. Before watching the video pls find a comfortable place, allow your imagination to create with no judgement and be aware of your breathing. If you lose focus gently move your thoughts back to your safe place until your feel your anxiety lifting. I hope you enjoyed this video. Play it and visit this place in your mind whenever you feel anxious. If you have further questions or need more support pls contact me.

Releasing the stress in your muscles usually reduce the anxiety levels. When you feel anxious, you might notice tension in your muscles. This muscle stress can make your anxiety more difficult to handle in the moment you’re experiencing it. This is an simple exercise to quickly reduce your muscle tension during moments of anxiety: The attached video will give you some guidance to make it more easy for you to relax and manage moments of anxiety. If you have further questions and need more support contact me.