Life can be overwhelming at times. And if you’re someone who tends to struggle with feelings of anxiety or just general worry, you may find that there are times when you find it difficult to calm your feelings down. We’ve all been there, friend.
While we’re certainly not psychologists, we have come across some useful tools for managing stressful situations and calming one’s mind over the years. Here are some of our favourites from the bunch.
Our best tips for calming an anxious mind
The butterfly hug
Using a technique known as bilateral stimulation, the butterfly hug asks you to link your thumbs and create a butterfly shape with your hands. Take this butterfly to your chest and tap your fingertips along your collarbones to create a butterfly flap.
You can read more about it here, but speaking from experience, it does have a soothing effect when you need to calm yourself a little.
Use a breathing exercise
Breathing through uncomfortable feelings can really help settle an anxious mind. This one takes a few minutes, and it’s super simple, which is what you want when you’re needing to calm yourself down a little.
Read more here. More examples can be found here, too.
Positive self-talk phrases
If you’re someone who struggles with negative self-talk (hello, me!), you can use certain phrases to break the habit somewhat. Here, we asked a psychologist to share a list of phrases you can tell yourself when your mind is being unkind.
Read about this calming tool here.
Masturbation
Sorry if you weren’t expecting that. But there are signs that a little self-love can be good for your headspace. It’s relaxing, it’ll boost your mood, and it’s a fun time.
Read our chat with an expert about why it helps.
Tools for overthinkers
Here, we spoke with a psychologist about overthinking situations and the stress that can bring on. From the 54321 practice to allocated ‘worry time’, here is a list of seven ways to break that tricky thought process and calm the mind.
Dance it out
Want to distract your mind from negative thoughts? Try a dance class. We’ve written about the benefits a couple of times, and I personally am a huge fan because of how bloody happy I feel after dancing. Give it a go.
Read more about dancing to calm the mind here.
Write a love letter
This is another particularly fun one. Studies suggest that writing love letters can have a hugely positive effect on your headspace. It’s linked to gratitude practices which we know can help boost your mood.
Read more about why it’s so great for you here.
If you’re struggling with anxiety and depression, know that help is available. Contact BeyondBlue on 1300 22 4636 or Lifeline on 13 11 14.
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