Breathe and Look Around: Mindful Ways to Calm Anxiety
Controlled breathing exercises are an often overlooked tool to help reduce anxiety and potentially quell the onset of a panic attack.
Controlled breathing exercises are an often overlooked tool to help reduce anxiety and potentially quell the onset of a panic attack.
Feeling anxious? Try this - take a slow, deep breath in through your nose, hold it for a few seconds, then gently exhale from your mouth. Repeat a few times. Next, take in your surroundings - notice the colors, sounds, and textures around you.
This combination of purposeful breathing and redirecting your focus outward can help relieve anxiety before it escalates.
Controlled breathing is a quick yet powerful way to activate your body's relaxation response. Deep belly breaths stimulate the vagus nerve and reduce stress hormone production.
The more we pay attention to each breath, the more our racing thoughts settle. Set a rhythm - try breathing in for 4 counts, holding for 2, and exhaling for 6.
Likewise, focusing your senses on your environment rather than inward can calm the mind. Studies show visually scanning details in your field of vision quickly lowers anxiety. Notice objects around you or read signs, ads, or maps.
This redirects your brain's focus from worrying to processing external stimuli.
Anxiety often heightens our self-focus - your mind spins with "what-if" thoughts. But shifting attention to the present interrupts this cycle. The sights, smells, or sounds around you become your temporary anchor.
Try observing things you often overlook. Appreciate colors and textures. Listen for subtle ambient sounds.
With practice, controlled belly breathing and looking outward can stop anxiety in its tracks and prevent a full-blown panic attack. Keep these subtle yet powerful tools in your back pocket for when you need quick relief.
A few mindful breaths and a scan of your surroundings can go a long way to easing overwhelmed nerves.
