Anxiety. An emotion we all know too well. It creeps up in our bodily sensations and into our thoughts. Whether it's a hollow pit in the center of your stomach or worrying thoughts in your head, anxiety loves to rear its ugly head at the most inopportune moments.
Anxiety comes in different forms and intensities, but many of the overarching psychological and physical symptoms tend to be the same: excessive worry, difficulty concentrating, feeling on edge, restlessness, and heart palpitations.
So what can we do about it? How can we quiet some of the noise in our heads and soothe the tension in our bodies?
In my private practice, I incorporate Dialectical Behavior Therapy techniques to help my clients reduce the intensity of their overwhelming emotions. Dialectical Behavior Therapy ("DBT") is an evidence-based treatment that was designed to help people manage intense emotions, reduce self-destructive behaviors, and improve relationships. DBT focuses on four main areas: Mindfulness, Distress Tolerance, Emotion Regulation, and Interpersonal Effectiveness.
While all four areas can help with anxiety in some way, let's focus our attention on Distress Tolerance. Distress Tolerance skills are there to help people get through intense emotions. When we're talking about anxiety, we want to use Distress Tolerance skills to both change our body sensations and also shift the focus away from worrying thoughts.
TIPP Skills
There's a group of skills called TIPP (it's an acronym) that I teach my clients when they could use a real jolt to their system. These skills were created to immediately change body chemistry.
T — Temperature
Use cold water to calm down fast. Put your face into cold water or hold a cold pack on your eyes and upper cheeks while holding your breath. This triggers a ‘dive response’ that slows your heart rate and redirects blood flow.
I — Intense Exercise
Burn off stored physical energy with short bursts of movement — a brisk walk, jumping jacks, or whatever gets your heart pumping safely.
P — Paced Breathing
Slow your breath by breathing out more slowly than you breathe in. Try inhaling for 4 counts and exhaling for 6–8 counts to activate your parasympathetic nervous system.
P — Paired Muscle Relaxation
Pair muscle relaxation with your exhale. Tense a muscle group as you breathe in, then release fully as you breathe out.
Try the Temperature Skill
Next time you're very anxious, try holding your breath for 30 seconds and putting your face in a bowl of cool water (50 degrees and above). You can also do this with a cold pack or a ziplock bag of cold water on your eyes and upper cheeks. The dive response will slow your heart and help regulate your emotions.
Self-Soothing
Another skill within the Distress Tolerance section of DBT is called Self-Soothing. When practicing this skill, you want to think of soothing each of your five senses.
Vision
Look at the stars at night or light a candle and watch the flame.
Hearing
Pay attention to the sounds of nature — waves, birds, rainfall, leaves rustling — or sing along to your favorite songs.
Smell
Open a package of coffee and inhale the aroma or boil cinnamon on the stove.
Taste
Suck on a piece of peppermint candy or sip your favorite soothing drink.
Touch
Put creamy lotion on your body or wrap yourself in a soft blanket.
Track Your Progress
Next time you feel those uncomfortable sensations of anxiety invading your body or infiltrating your mind, try practicing TIPP or Self-Soothing. If you'd like to test out whether the intensity of your anxiety actually goes down by using one of these skills, try rating it on a scale of 0–10 before practicing the skill and then again after practicing the skill. I hope it helps!