Methods for Calming Down, Relaxation & Feeling Better - Please Share!

Hey! I thought it would be cool to have a thread where people can share their ways of feeling better during a bad bit of anxiety! Feel free to share anything that may have helped you!

Something that I really like doing is breathing exercises. They help me calm down before performances and they might help you too! One I really enjoy is either puckering your lips as though you had a straw in between, or folding your tongue if you can to make a smaller air stream. When you breath in, the air should be cool. Hold the air for four seconds, then breath out for eight seconds or as long as you can, whatever comes first. The cool air helps to cool down your body.

Another method I like is tensing up different body parts, starting up at your head, and working your way down to your toes. Tense up each of your body parts for five seconds, and then release. When you have finished tensing and relaxing your toes, tense up your whole body. Relax. This exercise can increase your relaxation. I like to focus on the sensations around me while I do this. The sound of the heater or air conditioner. The quiet buzz of cars outside my window. The sound of birds chirping in the morning. The feeling of the floor on my feet, or my breath coming in and out. This also helps me fall asleep when I have a busy mind.

I hope some of these helped you! They help me calm down a lot! As I said, feel free to add any exercises you like to do to calm down! Stay strong!