3 Ways to Physically Process Anxiety
Summer sounds dreamy. This idyllic image of sunny days sitting by the pool or delightful vacations comes to mind for a lot of people. Summer offers more unscheduled moments, more free time. Doesn’t everyone love that?
Honestly, the unscheduled moments and free time-filled days can come with more anxiety. Suddenly, your schedule is so wide open the freedom feels overwhelming.
This anxiousness can take root in different ways for different people…
You thrive in some structure that’s lacking in Summer.
You love freedom but you have others dictating your summer schedule.
You compare your summer days to others & you’re never satisfied.
The list could go on and on. If you or someone you know feels a low hum of anxious energy as your seasonal schedule shifts, let’s talk about how to process this anxiety.
Did you know it’s helpful to physically process anxious energy?
It’s concrete.
It’s tangible.
It’s active.
Here are three physical processing tips I have found helpful:
- Deep Breaths
Use this physical action step before or during your anxiousness. It can act as a calming tool before a stressful situation. Or it can help calm your system during a heightened anxious moment.
Remember, I am no doctor. However, science shows when you breathe deep from your diaphragm it stimulates the thinking part of your brain. It helps you think more clearly in the middle of stress. It also stimulates the vagus nerve which is connected to the parasympathetic nervous system to help lower stress. You can read more here on tips and tricks to practice diaphragm breathing.
This can look like a more structured practice of deep breathing: 5-minute meditation, or consistent yoga practice.
This can also take on an impromptu form. In the moment, slow down and find a quiet place to take a few deep breaths.
Personally, I had a friend stop me and do this during a conversation. My body responded to stress. It came out in those weird tears that just happen out of nowhere. I end up saying, “I’m sorry, I don’t know why I’m crying about this.” My body is trying to tell me to deal with the low hum of anxiety that has been building. My friend slowed me down and took a few deep breaths with me before continuing the conversation.
2. Physical Activity
Choose your intensity level, but get up and go do something when you feel the anxiousness building. We can often get trapped in our thoughts. My heart will tell me what I need is to just sit quietly and rest. What ends up happening? I end up sitting and thinking and stewing over the anxious thoughts that have already started.
When you get up to do something active it gives your anxious energy a place to go. It leaves your body and mind a little more clear. However, choose your intensity level of activity.
Know yourself at that moment. Do you need a low-intensity or high-intensity activity?
Do you need to go for a calming walk?
Do you need to go run some quicker-paced miles?
Do you need to sweat it out in an intense hot yoga or kickboxing session?
I have learned that my body often carries a higher amount of energy. I need higher intensity movement to keep my mind and body clear of the anxious energy that can sit inside of me.
Whether I keep a consistent schedule of intense hot yoga or running. Perhaps, it’s an impromptu activity. I have left a meeting frustrated to run all the ever-loving stairs in my workplace to process what just happened. Either way, physical movement helps me think more clearly and calmly.
3. Fuel your Body
Choose food wisely. Pay special attention to this in seasons of higher anxiousness. It is easy to slip into survival mode. In survival mode, I stop feeding myself healthier consistent meals. My brain is more consumed with more urgent decisions. I feel depleted and cannot meal prep or plan a week’s worth of meals and snacks at a time.
This is when you will see me working that food app like crazy just to get the rewards, just to get a free chicken sandwich, just so I can not cook a meal! Once this cycle starts I find myself going through drive-thrus every day.
Stopping the cycle is one small active choice. If I can stop and make one healthier snack or meal choice I can feel better about myself.
One healthier food choice helps us regain…
Control
Energy
Confidence
I can indeed stop the spiraling survival cycle little by little. Pick up the banana or apple instead of the chocolate chip cookies – plural because we all know I never eat just one cookie.
Whether you’re proactively prepping for a stressful moment, feeling the low hum of anxiousness building over time, or lost in a storm of anxiety, try these three steps. These simple steps take practice. Be intentional. Be aware. Be gracious with yourself.
Processing anxiety physically can help calm your body, & bring clarity to your mind. That sounds like a delightful summer mode.
