4 Coping Skills to Help with Anxiety in the Short Term
Three weeks ago I wrote a blog post called, “Four Ways to Manage Anxiety Long Term.” In this list, I described four habits we can add into our lives to reduce our overall anxiety. All of these habits are incredibly effective, but none of them are a quick fix.
You may be wondering what to do about your anxiety right now. Maybe you have a big event coming up, like the holidays which can produce a lot of anxiety, or you have a big job interview tomorrow and need to reduce anxiety so you can get some sleep.
How can you quickly reduce your anxiety enough to “get it together” and do what has to be done? Next time you feel your anxiety peaking try one of these four short-term coping skills.
Breathing
I always say deep breathing is a life hack to quickly reduce anxiety. The reason this is helpful is because anxiety is both a physical state and an emotion. When we are stressed or anxious our body tends to breathe quickly, irregularly, and our breath becomes shallow. When we engage in intentional deep breathing we can send the signal to our body that the threat is over and we are in a state of calm. When our body relaxes our mind will quickly follow.
When you are ready to try this out, practice square breathing: Breathe in for four counts, hold for four, and breathe out for four. Truthfully the pattern doesn't matter. Just make sure it is intentional, consistent, and slow.
2. Grounding
Grounding can help us reduce anxiety in the moment because it takes us out of our head (our anxious thoughts) and shifts focus to our physical environment. Examples of grounding may include taking a short walk and focusing on the sights and sounds, holding an ice cube, savoring a food, or taking note of all the physical sensations on your body.
3. Meditation
When we are dealing with anxiety our mind may feel all jumbled, it may be racing, and we may feel at the mercy of our anxious thoughts. Meditation can be helpful because it forces us to focus our mind. Meditation can seem daunting at first, but there are a plethora of apps and youtube videos to guide you through the process. Many people find meditation helpful if their mind is racing making it difficult to sleep. Try looking up a “Progressive Muscle Relaxation” video next time you are looking for a bedtime meditation.
4. Distraction
Everyone's favorite coping skill, but also the most dangerous. When we engage in distraction we temporarily engage in an activity that gets our mind off of our anxious thoughts. This could be watching TV, reading a book, or going on a walk with a friend. Be weary because distraction can quickly turn into avoidance. In order to keep our distraction healthy, it should be time limited (around 30 minutes) and then we should return to confront our anxiety in a more direct way.
All of these coping skills can be useful if used sparingly. Sometimes we just need to get stuff done! However, using these short term coping skills is not dealing with the root of your anxiety, therefore you will continue to have anxiety when faced with the same issue in the future. If you are looking for a more long term solution check out the blog post “Four Ways to Cope with Anxiety Long Term.”