6 Ways to Ground Yourself When You’re Feeling Anxious

On the outside, I appear to the be the same, perhaps with less of a sense of humor. On the inside, I want to cry and scream. Hello, anxiety.

I’m writing this as I’m waiting to hear back from the doctor about whether or not my son has Lyme Disease. I’d love to report that I’m one of those women who maintains a rational outlook on life in times like these. I’m not. My heart clenches, my mind races and I freak out. No one would know this to look at me — I’m amazing at internalizing. On the outside, I appear to the be the same, perhaps with less of a sense of humor. On the inside, I want to cry and scream. Hello, anxiety.

When anxiety surfaces, it’s tough for me to perform. I have a business, and I have clients that I care deeply about. I have children to show up for. For whatever reason, I’m built to “turtle.” I want to duck into my shell and protect myself from life. Thankfully, the more work I do on myself and the more I grow as a person, the more diminished my anxiety becomes.

But for the past three days, it’s been a real effort to keep my anxiety in check. My thoughts snowball into a flurry of “what-ifs.” This creates a lot of suffering. As you can imagine, I’ve been doing a lot of grounding work. These are the tricks I’ve been using to keep myself from careening into outer space:

1. Acknowledge the anxiety.

In order to help release the hold anxiety can have on you, you must first acknowledge that it’s there. Most of us walk around unaware that we’re caught in anxiety’s web. Anxiety is great at “tricking” you into believing something is real. So all these fear-based thoughts you are having are simply that: thoughts. Thoughts aren’t real. Thoughts aren’t happening. If I remind myself that my thoughts are “the anxiety” doing its work, it helps me detach from the fear. I know it’s not real.

2. Start with your breath.

Have you noticed that when you get anxious, your whole body tenses up and your breath moves from deep and calming, to shallow and light? This kind of shallow breathing keeps the anxiety alive in your body. If the body can’t relax, neither can the mind. Take deep, full breaths all the way down into your belly. Breathe in through your nose and as you exhale through your mouth, make your exhale longer than your inhale. This deep breathing signals the body to relax and helps calm your mind and spirit.

3. Connect to your body.

Movement is one of the most amazing ways to get into your body. When you’re stuck running in circles on the hamster wheel in your head, nothing grounds you more than moving your body. So get up and get moving. Yoga, running or walking — or my personal favorite, a one-minute dance party — all can you out of the fear of an uncertain future and put you directly in the present moment, the only place worth being.

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