It’s important to remember that anxiety is an emotional reaction to real-world events. It’s thinking about the “what if?” rather than focusing on what is actually happening in the present. To better look after your well being, it’s important to discover what the anxiety spiral is, what causes it, and how you can put a stop to it before it gets out of control.
Anxiety begins with stress. When we feel stress, it triggers the amygdala – or the “fight or flight” part of the brain. When this part of the brain gets going, it begins flooding the body with cortisol, or the stress hormone. This makes you feel the physical symptoms of stress like a short temper, headache, difficulty concentrating, or even an upset stomach.
Once cortisol starts causing these physical sensations, the anxiety spiral is already beginning. When this part of the brain overacts due to exposure to stress, it’s difficult to get it to calm itself down. If you’re already feeling anxious, minor stresses that may give you little to no reaction otherwise can seem like a much bigger deal, further fueling these stressed sensations. Before you know it, it feels as if you’re losing control.
Defeating The Anxiety Spiral
The anxiety spiral can be stopped, and it can be stopped at any point. The first step in stopping the spiral is recognizing it, observing it, and knowing what is behind these sensations you may be feeling. Once you’ve “met” the anxiety spiral, it’s much easier to make logic of the situation and put an end to it with the right tools. A few tricks for stopping an anxiety spiral are:
- Take out your mala prayer beads – Centering yourself and reminding yourself of the moment is a simple and highly effective way to calm an anxiety spiral. With your mala prayer beads, focus on a calming mantra. As you repeat your mantra with each bead, allow yourself to feel every sensation in your body; observing how they calm with each repetition. Stones with grounding energies can be particularly helpful in bringing yourself back to the present.
- Touch something cold – Touching something cold like a chilled beverage, cold metal, or an ice cube can be just enough to shock you out of the spiral and back to the present. One trick that can be especially helpful is putting something cool on the back of the neck, which ices the vagus nerve and tells the nervous system to relax.
- Exercise – Moderate aerobic exercise can help to burn off excess levels of cortisol and adrenaline in the body, providing quick and effective stress or anxiety relief. It’s important to keep your workout calm, as going too hard could cause cortisol due to stress on the body. A quick walk during a break or a short jog after work can be just enough to feel the positive effects.
At Technalink, we encourage our teams to observe how they react to stress, and prioritize their mental well being before an anxiety spiral takes hold. With observation of the body, and a few tools in your toolbox, anxiety never needs to take hold again.
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