Anxiety Toolkit | How to calm down quickly...
8 Evidence- Based Techniques...
I have compiled 8 of the most EFFECTIVE techniques for quickly reducing anxiety levels. (Things that aren’t just “have a bath” or “reduce your caffeine!”). This is not click-bait pseudoscience, and I have provided links to my sources at the bottom of the page in case you want to learn more.
Disclaimer: Anxiety disorders are complex and often require long term support like therapy. This article is not medical advice or a substitute for professional treatment.
However, when it comes to the day-to-day manifestations of acute anxiety, (e.g., becoming overwhelmed, having panic attacks, or brain fog), there are some evidence-based tools you can use to immediately calm your nervous system…
1. Double- Inhale Breathing Technique.
Double-inhale breathing, sometimes referred to as "4-7-8 breathing", involves inhaling through the nose for a count of four, holding the breath for a count of seven, and exhaling through the mouth for a count of eight. The lengths of the breaths are less important than the format of inhale, inhale, exhale. Utilising this method has been shown to lower stress in as little as 3-4 repetitions!1
By slowing down the breathing and increasing the length of exhalation, we can stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system, which promotes relaxation and reduces heart rate and blood pressure.2
In contrast to the standard single inhale, single exhale, 4-7-8 breathing is often easier to perform in times of acute anxiety, and furthermore, it has the effect of lengthening the exhalation in comparison to the shorter inhalation, BUT since there are two inhalations, you are still increasing oxygen levels in the body. To learn more about the effect on the body of shorter inhalations vs longer exhalations, go to episode ……. Of Huberman Lab.
2. Panoramic Vision
While there is limited research on this technique, it is thought that widening the field of view could help reduce anxiety levels.
When we are anxious, we often to focus our attention narrowly on the ‘threat’ or source of anxiety. This tunnel vision can make it hard to see or appreciate other aspects of our environment, which can perpetuate feelings of fear and helplessness. This effect of a narrowed field of vision can occur in individuals with anxiety disorders, even when no genuine ‘threat’ is in front of them, because the brain and body are in constant ‘fight or flight’.
By consciously expanding our visual field, it’s possible to shift our attention away from the anxiety-provoking stimulus and toward neutral, or positive features of the environment. This can help us to feel more grounded and less overwhelmed.
Additionally, by changing the focus of our eyes and consciously relaxing, we can decrease tension in our facial muscles and eyes. This can signal to the rest of the body that it too can relax.
While there isn't much empirical research on this technique, studies have suggested that similar mindfulness practices can be helpful in reducing anxiety. 3
3. Deep Pressure
Deep pressure, such as that provided by a weighted blanket, can activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which promotes relaxation. It also decreases activity in the sympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for the stress response. This decreases the production of stress hormones, e.g. cortisol, which can be beneficial in reducing anxiety.
Since weighted blankets are often expensive/ not always accessible, there are other ways to achieve the deep- pressure effect:
Lying flat on the floor, face down.
A tight hug.
Doing push ups.
Press against a wall.
Curl into a ball and squeeze your knees to your chest.
Yoga poses such as Child’s Pose.
Wrap a blanket tightly around your shoulders.
Lie flat on the floor and have a family member/ friend place large heavy books along your body. Be careful with this though!
While this technique is mainly recommended to children and adults with Autism4, deep pressure techniques will benefit many individuals suffering from anxiety too.5
4. Music with low BPM
Research has shown that music with a slower tempo tends to be calming and relaxing for many people6. BPM refers to the number of beats in a minute, and slower music typically has a BPM of around 60-80.
How does this work?
Heart-beat synchronization: Studies have found that certain types of slow, music can synchronize our heart rate with the rhythm of the music. This leads to a decrease in heart rate, shifting the body into a more relaxed state/ reducing anxiety and stress. 7
Neural synchronization: Other studies suggest that listening to slow music can increase activity in the parasympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for promoting relaxation. This can decrease the production of cortisol 8, a stress hormone that contributes to feelings of anxiety and tension. 9
Emotional regulation: Music can also have a powerful effect on our emotions and mood. Listening to calming music can help to regulate negative emotions10 such as anxiety, fear, and anger, and promote feelings of calm and tranquillity. 11This will be highly dependent on your personal musical preferences.
5. Fix your Light Source
From personal experience, I can say that switching my bright white lamps to softer yellow ones has been great for improving anxiety. Similarly, wearing glasses with red lenses had positive effects during times of overwhelm. It turns out that this has evidence behind it…
Dim lighting and red light12 have also been found to have calming effects and reduce anxiety for some individuals. This is thought to be due to their impact on the production of melatonin, a hormone that helps regulate sleep and mood.13
You can easily implement changes to your light sources - see if you notice a positive difference!…
Turn your phone screen to ‘night mode’ to activate the softer, warmer light setting.
Dim your lights at home where possible.
Use small lamps instead of overhead lights.
Invest in coloured lamps, reading lights, fairy lights if possible.
Try tinted glasses.
This may also improve your sleep quality!
It's important to note that individual experiences with dim lighting and red light may vary, and that research on these interventions for anxiety is still developing.
6. Avoid Blood Sugar Drops.
Low blood sugar can have a significant impact on anxiety levels for some people. When blood glucose levels drop too low, the body releases adrenaline and other stress hormones, which can contribute to feelings of anxiety and nervousness. This has been well researched14 and is especially relevant to my readers with eating disorders as this often results in increased blood sugar sensitivities.
I know that many of my readers are in eating disorder recovery or are struggling with food in some way at the moment. It is worth using this information to motivate yourself to eat consistently and generously throughout the day! Your mental health is paramount, and pushing yourself to eat frequently may improve your anxiety.
When I began eating regularly, and weight restoring, I noticed a significant improvement in my general anxiety levels, my brain- fog (which impaired my ability to rationalise or escape anxious thoughts), and the intensity of anxiety, DESPITE no other changes to my mindset, therapy, etc…
Nutrition is so important, and ED recovery is about much more than weight- it’s giving your brain fuel to function and heal.
Here are some general tips if you don’t know where to start…
Try a minimum of 3 meals and 3 snacks per day, adding on snacks if you a) are medically advised to, or b) feel hungry outside of the basic structure (as many people in recovery do).
Each time you eat a snack/ meal and feel fear or guilt, remind yourself that this exact food is helping your anxiety by providing the building blocks for a healthy brain.
Carry snacks around with you even if you don’t think you will need it.
Try to eat something every 2-3 hours at a MINIMUM.
Try to choose snack foods that have easily available energy, rather than fibrous veg or fruits which are harder to digest.
7. Cool Down!
This one is self-explanatory… It’s summertime in the UK and temperatures have been higher than usual. Being hot and sticky WILL NOT help with anxiety. And it’s a quick thing to fix….
Cold showers.
Washing your hands in cold water.
Splashing your face/ spraying you face with a facial mist.
Using a mini portable fan.
Wearing SPF before being in the sun will stop your skin heating up as much (as well as preventing sunburn/ skin cancer).
Wearing lose, comfortable clothes.
Bringing a change of clothes out with you.
Drink cold water.
8. Journaling
The final tip is a simple journaling exercise which you can do in times of intense anxiety. In these instances I feel as though my brain cannot function and it is hard to think straight. Using this journaling exercise helps me to identify all different kinds of stressors, triggers, figure out why I’m feeling so bad, and then identify SOLUTIONS. This technique is more involved than the others in this list, but it’s a very helpful practice so I will share it with you…
Get a pen and paper.
You are going to ask these six questions to yourself. Write out each question, and underneath, jot down your answer. Write whatever comes to mind first and do not worry about ‘making sense’ or finding the ‘right’ words. It’s a brain dump.
The questions are…
What am I feeling PHYSICALLY and MENTALLY right now?
When/ Where did this start?
Why am I feeling this way?
How can I feel better PHYSICALLY right now?
How can I feel better MENTALLY right now, and what issues need to be addressed later?
Out of the things I could do to feel better, what is my plan for now, and who can support me if necessary?
If you want more journaling exercises & therapy worksheets, please find my Etsy shop
where I sell PDF packs of ED recovery related worksheets which are easy to download/ print at home.
Finally, I will briefly mention the basic advice for managing anxiety. Although these tips are common knowledge to most, and many of you are probably tired of hearing the same advice from doctors, friends, and family, it would be foolish to skip these key factors that will influence anxiety levels….
Caffeine intake
Sleep
Nutrition
Dealing with problems in your life
Unhealthy relationships
Trauma
Overwork (school or career)
Medication side effects
Therapy
Dehydration
Comorbid mental illness or personality disorder.
Substance abuse
If you have concerns about any of these factors which influence anxiety, please seek professional help.
To conclude…
I hope you have found some useful tools for quickly and effectively reducing anxiety levels.
Please remember to seek professional help if you are concerned about your own mental health, or a loved one’s. Please also remember to use this article and the Real Recovery Podcast episode that it was based on is for informational purposes not medical advice or instruction. I wish you the best!
If you enjoyed it, please share this article/ episode, (or interact with my platforms in any way), because it helps the algorithms push my content out to more people who may also find it helpful.
Links to the studies & articles I referenced are below, as well as links to my other platforms. If you want to listen to the accompanying podcast episode where i go into further detail and focus more on my personal experience and recovery, check out the Real Recovery Podcast episode 20. 'Anxiety Toolkit | How to calm down quickly... (+ recovery update)’.
Thank you for reading!
Links:
Sources:
Podcast: Huberman Lab, episode 10. Master Stress: Tools for Managing Stress & Anxiety. Listen on Apple Podcasts:
A study published in the Journal of Dental Research found that slow-paced breathing exercises, including a double-inhale technique similar to the 4-7-8 method, reduced acute stress and sympathetic nervous system activation in healthy adults. (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24671556/). A review of studies published in the journal Behavioural Medicine found that slow breathing techniques, including double-inhale breathing, were associated with reductions in anxiety, stress, and depressive symptoms. (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30169968/)
A randomized, placebo-controlled study published in the Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology found that wearing a weighted vest had a calming effect on anxiety levels in children with autism. (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18928336/)
A study published in the Journal of Occupational Therapy in Mental Health found that deep pressure therapy using a weighted blanket can reduce physiological and behavioural signs of anxiety in adults. (https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0164212X.2010.545409)
- A review of studies published in the Journal of Sleep Medicine & Disorders found that deep pressure therapy may promote restful sleep and reduce symptoms of anxiety and stress in adults. (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6087582/)
A study published in the Journal of Positive Psychology found that listening to calming music can help to regulate emotions and improve overall mood. (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5357943/)
A study published in the Journal of Music Therapy found that listening to calming music led to a decrease in cortisol levels, as well as improved mood and decreased anxiety in patients undergoing dental procedures. (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3741536/)
An article in the Journal of Advanced Nursing reviewed several studies that investigated the effects of music on anxiety and found that music can be an effective intervention for reducing anxiety in a variety of clinical settings. (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27912841/)
An article in the journal Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging proposed that red light therapy may have neuroprotective effects and help to reduce anxiety in older adults. (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7073828/). A study published in the Journal of Physiological Anthropology found that exposure to red light reduced activity in the sympathetic nervous system and cortisol levels, resulting in increased relaxation and decreased anxiety in study participants. (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4440346/).
A study published in the Journal of Sleep Research found that dim light exposure in the evening promote increased melatonin production and improved sleep quality, which can have positive effects on anxiety levels. (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jsr.12638)
A study published in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine found that lower blood glucose levels were associated with increased symptoms of anxiety and nervousness, particularly among people who were sensitive to changes in blood sugar levels. (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16868262/). An article in the Journal of Diabetes Research reported that hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar) was associated with increased feelings of anxiety, nervousness, and irritability compared to normal or high blood sugar levels. (https://www.hindawi.com/journals/jdr/2019/7843962/). A review of studies published in the journal Current Diabetes Reports found that hypoglycaemia can lead to both physical symptoms (such as shaking, sweating, and dizziness) and psychological symptoms (such as anxiety, nervousness, and confusion). (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6150324/)