I will highly recommend that contact experts when you are experiencing a high level of anxiety. However, there are a few self-help techniques that I usually suggest my clients do when they don’t have psychological support. These are short-term techniques that help you lower your anxiety level for the moment.
Grounding Technique (5, 4, 3, 2, 1):
This practice helps minimize anxiety, brings you to the present moment, and stops anxious thoughts. So stay grounded by using your five senses. Relax your body, sit comfortably with your back straight, take a few deep breaths, and focus on the following:
5 things you can see
4 things you can feel
3 things you can hear
2 things you can smell
1 thing you can taste
Stay connected with your feelings and experiences by writing a journal.
Writing a journal about your experience and feelings helps you to: a) develop greater awareness of self b) resolve troubling thoughts because you develop a better understanding by expressing it to yourself and writing is a great way of expressing self c) feel light because whatever you experience, think and feel, it comes out of your system and you don’t have to carry the burden of those thoughts anymore. It will also help you to Understand and Accept your situation and you will be able to find solutions of your problems.
How to write a journal?
Step 1: you can use a diary, laptop, computer, or mobile but make sure that devices are password protected or keep your diary in a place where only you can access it. This will help you to maintain your privacy.
Step 2: Try to make sense of your situation by writing your experience; the situation you are in, the kind of people you are interacting with, and their influence and interaction in your life. What you are experiencing? What is happening around you which is affecting you?
Step 3: Your thought process: Write what are you thinking and what is making you think that way. Are these thoughts impacting you positively or negatively? If destruction is happening in your personality then what are the reasons? You have to see the positive and negative side of your thoughts because it will help you to adopt solution solution-oriented approach.
Step 4: Try to get connected with your feelings and emotions. Have a journey of your emotional experience. Write what feelings am I experiencing. What is the most prominent? When did I become aware of these feelings? What might be triggering these feelings?
Step 5: Try to find out what you can do to change your situation. At the end of this exercise, do check how you are feeling, what is your state of mind after writing the journal, is there any clarity in your thought process.
Shocking and breaking your thought patterns with positive thoughts- Exercise to manage your thoughts
If you are experiencing yourself thinking about negative aspects of life, or there is a thought which is troubling and making you feel anxious then this exercise will help you to manage your negative thoughts. It will replace your negative thoughts with the positive thoughts. It will also help you to train your brain to think and focus on the positive side of life.
If you are driving, what do you do when there is a pit that you are not able to see from far away or suddenly there is a car in front of your car without giving you an indicator? You will overtake it. Exactly in the same way you need to overtake your distressful thoughts. Let the negative or troubling thoughts come and keep on thinking for at least a minute. Try to understand it, listen to the voice of this thought, and what it is saying, listen to your thought empathically without any judgment or guilt. After a minute imagine there is a green board and the ‘Shift’ or ‘Change’ word is written on it. Now change the nature of your thought and start thinking something very positive, a thought that makes you extremely happy. This thought can be related to your travel plan, your new job, your relationship, your kids, etc. Now try to imagine yourself in that positive or happy situation. What are you doing? What is happening around the environment, how are you feeling? What you have achieved. Imagine yourself fully in the situation as you are living that happy experience in the present moment. At the end of the exercise try to connect with your emotions in the present moment. What are your feelings after doing this exercise?
Re-framing:
People often suggest maintaining a positive attitude but how and what to do is very important. In my opinion, a positive attitude means seeing life and challenges as an opportunity to grow. Develop a positive perspective of your challenges but keep in mind the difficulty of your situation and acknowledge that difficulty.
a) Trying to develop a different or positive perspective of the same situation is necessary to have a solution-oriented approach. You have to see the glass half full with water and half empty as well because if you do not see half empty glass you will not be able to fill the glass and if you do not see the half-full glass you will not be able to enjoy the fullness and refreshing nature of the water. Take help or try to see the other aspect of the situation.
b) I will suggest that write all the details of your challenges and problems and what is making you feel stuck in the problems like losing the job, financial insecurity, fear of uncertainty, etc
c) Make a list of all your resources can be your skills, knowledge, exposure, experience, support, people, money; or any emotional or physical resources
d) Now try to find out solution by using these resources or blessings. Try to filter and connect which resources can help me solve my problems
e) To make it more organized you can write it in columns. So you can make a column of details of the problems, resources you have, and how to use those resources to find out solutions