If You're Feeling More Anxious Than Normal This Will Help

Often when we’re feeling anxious, our first step is to be frustrated with ourselves thinking: What’s wrong with me? And why can't I deal?

We think our anxiety is completely and totally our fault.

We can get frustrated that we can’t “just chill.”

Here are four things that help me:

1. Feel what you’re feeling and start to name it.
   Notice the body sensations you’re experiencing and start to say them aloud to yourself.
   “This is anxiety. My heart is beating fast. My stomach feels tight. I feel a weight on my chest.”
   
   
2. Shift from your head to your heart.
   Often when we’re caught in anxiety, we’re also experiencing mental overload, so it can be helpful to connect with the heart.
   Imagine moving your energy from your head to your heart space.
   Picture yourself breathing in and out from your heart center.
   
   
3. Take a self-compassion break and talk yourself through it.
   You can repeat the following phrases to yourself or use this guided meditation to support you.
   You can even put your hand on your heart to activate your body's natural stress reducing and calming system.
   
   I’m having a tough time right now and this is uncomfortable.
   We all feel anxiety from time to time.
   I’m not alone in this.
   May I be kind to myself in this moment and give myself the compassion I need.
   
   
4. Actively comfort yourself.
   Once you've practiced self-compassion, you might feel ready to take action to actively soothe yourself. Perhaps it would feel beneficial to take a walk outside? Or do some deep belly breathing? Or take a few minutes to pause and hold a warm cup of tea? Or call a friend?
   Take one small action to soothe yourself for feeling this way and remind yourself that you are worthy of your kindness.
   When we stub our toe or otherwise injure ourselves physically, we quickly and automatically comfort ourselves.

Yet when we experience emotional discomfort we are typically slow to acknowledge the pain it causes and even slower to actively comfort ourselves.
I hope these tips help you notice when anxiety or other disturbing emotions are present, so you can remember to be kind and take action to comfort yourself.

We're all in this together.
You are not alone in getting stressed and anxious - a recent study noted that 70% of workers said that this is the most stressful time they've ever experienced in their careers.

And you are worthy and deserving of self-compassion in these moments and all others.
you've got this,