Three tips for Anxiety that are total game changers (and no it's not breathing)

Anxiety is so rubbish, it is one of the most deeply unpleasant experiences that anyone can have. And because it’s so horrible, it’s very common to become anxious about getting anxious. Then you can get caught in a cycle of being anxious about your anxiety, which ironically makes you more anxious. When I had my burnout in 2022 and was experiencing regular panic attacks, I found my world getting smaller and smaller as I was afraid I’d experience a panic attack somewhere public, so I started restricting where I felt ok to go. And of course, the places I felt ok got fewer and fewer until my world was tiny. Also, everywhere I turned the advice was to breathe through my anxiety, but this wasn’t helping me, in fact when I was focusing on my breath I felt even more panicky! Now, I love breath work. I am a yoga teacher and I do breath work every day, but when your body is in a heightened state of anxiety, and it thinks it’s in danger, sitting still and forcing yourself to concentrate on your breath is not always the best thing to do. What helped me was seeing the distinction between the two types of anxiety: \* The original anxiety \* The anxiety about the anxiety I didn’t have much control over the first type in the moment, but if I watched it, it had a beginning, a peak, and then it passed. It was really, indescribably unpleasant, but it wasn’t going to kill me, and it couldn’t be more powerful than me because it was me. It was a sign from my body, not a moral failure. The second type was a bit more tricky; this one could seep into everything, but this is the one I had a bit more control over. It consisted of all the stories I was telling myself about the first type of anxiety, my reaction to it, and the way I kept pushing it away and trying to control it, and the way I was shrinking my life to try and avoid it. Weirdly, it was by accepting my anxiety that I was able to move through it. And part of accepting my anxiety was developing a toolkit for things to do when I can feel the physical symptoms of anxiety rear their head, and knowing that these might be different tools to the ones I need when I am in a calmer state. Here are 3 things that aren’t breathwork that can help with the physical symptoms of anxiety: \* Eat a very sour sweet - this is a grounding body technique that helps move your attention away from ruminating and scanning and to a strong sensation. \* Splash your face with cold water, this stimulates the mammalian dive reflex and stops you spiralling. \* Do a simple but engrossing mind puzzle. I like to think of a band name for every letter of the alphabet. The key is that it needs to be hard enough to engross you but easy enough not to stress you, think something you’d play on a long car journey. Please note that these tools might not work for you every time. It’s so important to experiment yourself and find what works for you, and to know that you are not a failure if certain tools that seem to work for others don’t work for you. And just because something doesn’t work now doesn’t mean it won’t be useful to you in the future. Also, these techniques are never meant to be a replacement for therapy or medication. Here is a short anxiety release that you might find useful Did you know that Yoga for Tired People has a soft paywall. This means that the videos and relaxations are available to everyone, regardless of whether you’re a paying member or not. This is because I trust that the people who can afford to and value what we do here will want to support the page and keep it accessible for all. All of my colleagues I have spoken to about this have told me that I’m mad. That this isn’t how things work, that no one will pay for something that they don’t have to. That if I make it available to everyone I’ll tank my business, that I won’t grow, that people will take advantage and I need to put my own oxygen mask on first. But I can’t help but have faith. I think so many of us are craving something new. We’re sick of big corporations and we yearn for a sense of community. And this is the world I want to live in so why not give it a try. If you want to support me to continue to make the videos then an annual subscription is pay what you feel, with a minimum of £20 because anything less gets wiped out by fees. Pay more if you can, pay it forward if you’re able. And if you can’t afford it right now, please just enjoy the videos guilt free. That’s what this is for. Yoga for Tired People is your permission slip to rest,To start where you are,And to stop waiting until life is less chaotic to take care of yourself. Good news!! I finally have some openings in the Zoom Studio coming up. The Zoom Studio is the online studio where we meet to practise nourishing, restoring yoga together. We have 3 live zoom classes a week, a library of on demand sessions and catch up on the live classes. Spaces are limited in the studio so it can feel cosy and supportive in the zoom sessions. There are only 10 spaces available and once they are gone, they are gone. It’s £35 a month and you can cancel anytime. If you’d like to join us you can sign up with this link and of course if you have any questions just let me know This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit happyyoga.substack.com/subscribe