Unfortunately, anxiety is very common in today’s society. Stressful jobs, having to deal with children, situations that are out of our control… All this contributes to the fact that, today, people live immersed in an atmosphere of nervousness, tension and anguish that always ends up leading to the same thing: An unconscious emotional state that makes us feel restless and that, no matter how much we want to, we cannot appease. Anxiety is reflected as a constant feeling of restlessness on a daily basis that prevents us from fully enjoying the moment.
In some cases, the symptoms of anxiety are momentary and generated by a specific and highly defined context. The real problem comes when these symptoms are prolonged over time and that feeling is present with us both day and night. This causes tension that makes it increasingly difficult for us to be relaxed and at ease.
Although in these cases it is recommended to see a professional immediately, you can learn to alleviate the symptoms by putting into practice certain relaxation techniques that will help you reduce anxiety. Next, we propose the most effective ones. They are simple, you can carry them out at home and you will get very good and effective results.
Very effective relaxation exercises to calm anxiety
You think you are not capable of coping with the anxiety you are feeling right now, but you are wrong. If you do your part, you can fight it and put an end to it forever. Pay close attention to the following calming exercises:
1 Learn to control your breath
Do you yawn uncontrollably? Do you sigh deeply continuously? This is so because one of the main symptoms of anxiety is shallow breathing. The first thing you should do is be aware of it and start putting into practice a simple technique that you can do anywhere: breath. Follow the next steps:
- Don’t breathe in through your mouth, do it through your nose.
- Breathe slowly and deeply several times. You have to notice how the abdomen widens on inspiration and how it narrows on exhalation.
- Take a few deep breaths through your nose and then exhale slowly and gently through your mouth.
2 Leave your mind blank for a moment
Our brain does not stop at any time, the head goes round and round and thoughts arise faster than we can realize. The problem is that if you suffer from anxiety, your and that negativity, instead of appeasing the symptoms, will only increase them.
It seems impossible to leave your mind blank, right? With this technique you will not be able to eliminate thoughts completely, but it will help you put some distance from them. Also, if you carry it out at the same time as you do breathe control, the exercise will be much more effective:
- Put into practice the breathing control exercises that we have explained to you previously.
- Focus only and solely on your breathing while you are doing them.
- Go counting the exhalations slowly at the rate they occur. Try flooding your brain with the number “uuuuuuuuuuno” in the first one, “dooooooooooos” in the second and so on.
- Try to get to number five and if any thought crosses your mind interrupting the process, reset the counter to zero.
- As you master the exercise, increase the number of breaths with a blank mind.
3 Schultz autogenic training
This relaxation technique is one of the most used in psychology. What we propose below is a reduced version of the exercise so that you can put it into practice in a more or less short time.
- Choose a comfortable and relaxed area where you won’t be distracted by anything. It can be at home or in a park, the important thing is that it is a place where you feel comfortable and it transmits tranquility.
- Close your eyes and take a deep breath.
- With each exhalation you do, you must mentally repeat to yourself: “I’m relaxed, I’m getting calmer.”
- Concentrate on your right leg and gradually focus your attention on its warmth. You see relaxing it slowly and at the same time repeat: “My right leg is relaxed; it is more and more relaxed.”
- When you manage to have that extremity relaxed, repeat the same process with the left leg. Then continue with the abdomen, arms and neck.
- When your neck is relaxed move to the head. Focus on her and repeat: “My head is relaxed and clear.” At this time your entire body should be in a complete state of relaxation.
- Take a deep breath before opening your eyes. Try to retain that state and before getting up, stretch your muscles and activate all your senses again.
Fight anxiety with these simple relaxation techniques
In addition to these exercises that we have shown you, there are small, very simple gestures that you can put into practice in your day to day to gradually reduce and eliminate the anxiety that you are going through. Very attentive:
4 Listen to relaxing music
Music frees. Music is capable of awakening all our senses. Music is life. Harness the power of music to calm your anxiety. The best thing is that you choose to listen to classical music or relaxing music and do it in a calm environment that generates confidence and security. It is not convenient to raise the volume too much; otherwise unnecessary strain will be generated in your ear.
5 Go running
Physical activity is also very beneficial when it comes to alleviating the symptoms of anxiety. You can opt for running. Practicing it will help you to disconnect from your daily problems and it will also have a positive influence when it comes to activating and releasing your muscles tense by nerves.
6 Remember a happy moment that you have lived
When anxiety is present in us, it seems like an insurmountable wall that we cannot be able to cross. One of the best techniques to make those nerves disappear is to look back, remember and remember a happy moment that you have experienced in your life. This will be very useful for you to realize that you can overcome any problem that stands in your way and be happy just as you were at that specific moment.
7 Play with your pet
Did you know that having? Dogs, cats and any other type of pet are also capable of perceiving the bad moment their owner is going through. They also suffer from your pain. Playing with your pet will make you disconnect from problems and will help you reduce the many tensions caused by anxiety.
8 Talk to someone you trust
One of the worst things you can do if you want to eliminate your anxiety is to swallow all your problems to yourself. Call that trusted person and tell them how you feel, express yourself and share with them the suffering you are going through. Maybe she won’t be able to give you the solution to your problem, but the act of talking and letting off steam will be incredibly beneficial for you. You are not alone!
9 Laugh non-stop
It is true that when one is going through a moment of stress and tension, it is very difficult to find enough. But it has been widely shown that laughing helps and that, although the context is not always the most appropriate, finding a situation or a person that helps us laugh will also help you fight anxiety.
10 Walk through an outdoor area
One of the infallible methods that help reduce anxiety is movement. And we are not referring to that movement guided by anger or fear. The best thing to release tension is to go for a walk in a quiet space and fully concentrate on your steps and become aware of other realities outside of your mind.
