Four of the Most Powerful Relaxation Techniques for Anxiety

Relaxation is one of the most widely used anxiety management tools – but why does it work so well? One of the key things to remember about anxiety is that it puts us into ‘fight or flight’ mode – our brains perceive a threat (which can be anything from an unreturned text message, to a public speaking engagement), and flood our systems with adrenaline and cortisol – hormones that are designed to sharpen our focus, get us ready to fight or run away, and put us on high alert. 

Of course, this is helpful if we’re faced with a bloodthirsty tiger, but less useful when we are sitting at our desk worrying about a deadline – and the adrenaline and cortisol flooding our systems are actually stopping us from being able to focus on our work. 

Through using relaxation techniques, we are overriding our body’s automatic response to a threat, and restoring a sense of calm and peace to how we are feeling. Relaxation is a powerful tool that you can use any time, anywhere, and is one of the most effective ways of treating anxiety. Here are some ideas for you to incorporate relaxation into your daily routine, either to manage anxiety, or prevent yourself from feeling anxious or stressed: 

Deep breathing

This is one of the easiest and most effective techniques for managing anxiety – and the good news is that you can do it anywhere – at the dinner table, during an exam, as you’re going to sleep – after all, you’re already breathing – you just need to make some small changes. Mind Ease has a deep breathing audio exercise that goes into more detail, but essentially you can start by focusing on your breath – trying to take in as much oxygen as you can, and breathing in slowly and deeply for three seconds – and then breathing out deeply for three seconds. 

Shifting our focus onto our breath is beneficial in a number of ways – our body benefits from the increased oxygen, or heart rate slows, and we are temporarily distracted from our surroundings – allowing us to refocus and access an internal feeling of calm. Be careful not to breathe in and out too quickly, or you might become light-headed – just focus on steadying your breathing and noticing the nice feelings that emerge when you get into a nice rhythm of deep breaths. 

Progressive muscle relaxation

This is another highly effective and simple exercise – basically, it works on the understanding that, the more relaxed our body is, the less anxious we will be – it is almost impossible for us to feel tense and nervous when our bodies are in a state of deep relaxation. PMR involves tensing different muscle groups in your body and then releasing, over a period of a few minutes – it often helps to go from your feet up to your head, and then down again. PMR is just as easy and accessible as deep breathing – you can do it while sitting in the car, in bed to get to sleep, or even when you’re in a meeting. 

Using this kind of physical relaxation strategy is really powerful, since it has absolutely nothing to do with what is going on in our head – it is a totally physical exercise, and easy to do even if you are feeling tired or overwhelmed. Many people find that using PMR is empowering, since it is such a powerful relaxation method, and often gives rise to really positive emotions such as calm, happiness and mental clarity. 

Mindfulness

Mindfulness is a great resource for calming that place that your anxiety originates – your brain. Mindfulness comes in a lot of different forms, but essentially the idea is to focus your mind on one single thing – whether that is what you are tasting, what you are feeling in your body, or the noises you can hear around you. This allows us to clear our minds of other things that are impacting us, and gives us the opportunity to refocus and reset mentally. 

Engaging in mindfulness during the day is as easy as the other two tools mentioned – all you need to do is to practice focusing on exactly what you are doing in the moment – whether this is walking, eating or listening. You can take 10 minutes during the day to do a mindfulness meditation, where you find a peaceful space and focus on your breath and switching off from your thoughts for a moment. One of the most encouraging findings from mindfulness research tells us that one of the outcomes of a regular mindfulness practice is greater happiness and wellbeing – people find that having this chance to switch off and refocus relieves their stress significantly, makes their relationships better as they are more patient, and seems to foster a greater sense of gratitude and happiness. 

Self care

This strategy is a lot broader than the previous three mentioned, but it can be just as effective. When we talk about self care, we mean the act of reflecting on what you need in the moment, and taking steps to meet that need. For some people, it may be some time alone with their thoughts – for others, it might be the company of a good friend, or an evening spent in front of the television with some ice cream. We all have different ways of looking after ourselves, but the reason that self care is such a powerful concept is that it is us, intentionally taking control of our time and taking steps to care for ourselves. 

When we are feeling out of control in our lives, lonely, frustrated or overwhelmed, it can be relaxing and empowering to take some time to recover or be nurtured. A lot of anxiety symptoms stem from feeling out of control and powerless – and daily self care rituals, such as exercise, eating properly, time to unwind and time with friends, can be a great way to establish just a bit of control. 

As you can see, relaxation techniques are powerful tools in the management of anxiety. The best thing about each of these strategies is that, the more you use them, the more effective they are. Making daily relaxation a habit can make a huge difference to your mental health and mood – daily mindfulness, self care rituals and breathing exercises can give you a great buffer against stress and anxiety, and will likely lift your mood as well as lower your anxiety. We’d recommend that you look at the ‘Calm Me’ exercises in Mind Ease and choose several to try- we have Deep Breathing, Progressive Muscle Relaxation, Mindfulness Meditation and Gratitude Journal exercises that you can use daily, and even track your progress in the app. 

If you’d like reliable relief from anxiety, you can install Mind Ease for free here.