If you have anxiety, you know the heart palpitations, the dry mouth, and the trembling. You know the feeling of cold sweat coming over your body and the panic taking over your mind. At this moment, all reality and logic seem to blur together. However, there are ways to manage those symptoms, and these are called anxiety grounding techniques.

 

Anxiety is usually triggered by fight-or-flight instincts which are common in people with traumatic events in their lives. As a result, such people develop PTSD, and they always feel like the world is out to get them.

 

Grounding techniques for anxiety are a precious resource for those with intrusive thoughts that influence their lives negatively. So, let’s talk about the best grounding strategies out there.

 

What are Grounding Methods In a Nutshell?

 

Grounding exercises for anxiety are mental or physical actions that distract you from the anxiety when it hits.

 

Such methods help you focus on the current moment and what is happening around you. Grounding methods enable you to create a healthy space from upsetting feelings in situations where it’s needed.

 

These methods can help you achieve the following:

• Decrease anxiety;
• Improve well-being;
• Decrease stress;
• Improve your mood;
• Help you deal with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD);
• Decrease depression;
• Lessen dissociation, etc.

 

Grounding skills are distributed in categories like physical grounding techniques, mental grounding techniques, and soothing grounding techniques.

 

Physical Grounding Techniques

 

Physical panic attack grounding techniques for anxiety take over all of your senses, so your attention is directed toward the current moment.

 

Below, we have gathered some of our favorites which are pretty effective.

 

Use Water, Touch Items, and Breathe in Deeply

 

The first panic attack grounding technique is to put your hands in some water and feel the temperature with your palms, fingers, and backs of your hands. Try out with warm water and then cold water. Examine how it feels with both temperatures. Bring your focus on your body.

 

The next good technique is picking up items and seeing whether they feel soft, heavy, warm, or cold. Think about their color and texture. How do you feel about them? Import breathing deeply in the mix and feel your lungs expand each time you inhale. Focus on exhaling slowly and steadily.

 

Savor Your Food and Scents, Take Walks, and Hold Ice

 

Good physical grounding techniques for anxiety include savoring what you eat, drink, and smell. Take small sips and bites out of your food and drinks. Explore their smell and taste.

 

If there is a scented candle around you, breathe in deeply. Notice its notes- is it spicy, sweet, or citrusy? This helps you concentrate on your surroundings and focus less on your anxiety.

 

Taking short walks and counting your steps help, too.

 

However, one of the best grounding techniques for anxiety is still holding a small piece of ice. The cold sensation makes your brain focus on it, and the anxiety strips away.

 

Do Exercises, Listen Carefully, and Focus On Your Body

 

Doing stretches or exercises like jumping jacks, jumping rope, jogging, or stretching can help you release stress and boost serotonin. Simply notice how your body moves and feels, how the mat and floor you exercise on rub against your body. For example, intentionally wiggle your toes or curl your fingers, and pay attention to how that feels.

 

Incorporate listening to the sounds when you exercise – what sounds does the gym equipment make, the conversations around you, the aircon working in the background, anything.

 

Use the 5-4-3-2-1 Technique

 

The last physical grounding technique is the 5-4-3-2-1 method. With this method, you count backward from 5 and list things you notice in your surroundings.

 

List 5 things you hear, see, touch, smell, and taste. Notice even the most minor things, like the hum of your computer box or the tiny specks of color on your carpet.

 

Mental Grounding Techniques

 

Mental grounding techniques for anxiety are good for helping you turn away your thoughts from overwhelming sensations.

 

Memory Games, Math, Poems, and Categories

 

Memory games are great when you feel like your mind is going to burst. Simply take a photograph and look at it for 10 seconds. Then, turn the photo upside down and try to remember it as best as possible. Write down everything you remember.

 

Thinking in categories is also great, so place down some categories, like football teams or musical instruments and write as many things as you can think of.

 

If you are a maths person, you can use math to calm yourself down. For example, count backward from 100 or do short equations in your head.

 

Reciting a book passage, a song, or a poem in your head and visualizing them is another good way to stay concentrated away from anxiety.

 

Leave the Pain Physically Behind

 

Visualizing throwing your pain away, like balling it in a scrunched-up paper ball or putting it in a box, helps. Then, you can jog, bike, swim, or walk away from these feelings and thoughts. See your anxiety as a TV program or a song and change the channel or mute the volume.

 

You can even describe your surroundings in your head, like, “This building is yellow with a red roof. The sun is shining on my face, and I can hear a bike bell nearby. A poodle is barking at children jumping rope.”

 

Soothing Grounding Techniques

 

Finally, using soothing grounding exercises for anxiety is another great option.

 

Below, you will see some examples.

 

Picture the Face or Voice of a Loved One and Be Kind to You

 

Picturing the face or voice of a loved one can make you feel comforted and confident that you will get through every obstacle. Imagine them coming through a door and sitting opposite you. Talk to them in your head and let go of your pain.

 

You can also visualize a favorite place or memory and feel its warmth.

Remember to be gentle towards yourself with phrases like “you are doing your best,” “you are strong,” and “you will make it through.”

 

Spend Time With Your Pet and Plan Activities

 

Spending time with pets is so important. You can snuggle with them or play at home and enjoy your company.

 

If you have a dog, go on a long walk or to the dog park and throw a ball together or throw them a stick. If you have a cat, play together with their cat toys.

 

Plan activities with humans, too. Go to the cinema or a restaurant with friends or family. Be present in the moment and cherish this experience. Share with them what bothers you, and you will feel a weight lifted from your shoulders.

 

Touch Comforting Items, List Your Favorite Things, and Listen to Music

 

Touching something comforting like a fluffy blanket or a loved T-shirt, even a smooth stone, is good for comfort.

 

Put on your favorite socks, scarf, or sweater, and feel the fabric against your skin.

 

List Your Favorite Things, and Listen to Music

 

Listing your favorite things can also bring happiness. Then, listing some things that you are grateful for helps out, too.

 

Listening to music also helps, and you can even try dipping into some soothing podcasts for mental health or mental health apps.

 

Some people just seem to have it all. They arrive first at the office early in the morning, always looking trim, friendly, and ready to conquer the world. They have a perfect plan, a seemingly ideal family, a well-functioning social circle, and a managing position with way too many responsibilities they somehow cope with. Sounds like the dream life for many, right?

 

You’ll probably be surprised to know that the overachiever’s inner world rarely matches their outer appearance and behavior. The person who excels at work and life is, in fact, the most probable high-functioning anxiety sufferer. And today, we are opening the discussion on how not every type of anxiety looks and feels the same.

 

What Is High-Functioning Anxiety?

 

Unlike generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorders, or phobias, high-functioning anxiety is not a recognized mental health diagnosis. It can often go completely unnoticed because people with high-functioning anxiety seem to do pretty well in life. Better than most people, actually.

 

Unfortunately, that outer glow is often in sharp contrast with how those people feel. High-functioning anxiety is characterized by almost ceaseless inner tension. Some describe feelings of worry, ongoing stress, and obsessive thoughts, while others have sleep disorders, restlessness, and irritability.

 

There is limited research and basically no reliable data on how many people in the world suffer from high-functioning anxiety. The first reason is probably that they simply don’t seem like they suffer. And the second reason is that scientists have been investigating the issue for way too short a time to present reliable statistics.

 

Do I Have High-Functioning Anxiety?

 

High-functioning anxiety is often overlooked and simplified with the brief “that’s just me” explanation. What’s more – that type of inner restlessness, agitation, and a strange feeling of disturbed excitement is frequently perceived as the main reason for the person actually to excel at life.

 

There is still no reliable high-functioning anxiety test approved by psychology experts, but there are several signs you can notice and analyze. If you are highly organized, competitive, ambitious, and impatient, you’ll probably need to read on. If you’re kind of obsessed with productivity and time management, if you have skyrocketing standards for yourself and others, and if you always need to be busy and see self-care activities as a waste of potential… We might have some food for thought for you.

 

If you ask the social circle of a person with high-functioning anxiety, they will describe them as a confident, reliable, and usually very smart acquaintance. If people see you that way, but you don’t really feel that way at all – you are most probably living with high-functioning anxiety without even realizing it.

 

7 Signs of High-Functioning Anxiety

 

Described briefly, the most common high-functioning anxiety signs are as follows:

 

• You are proactive, organized, and detail-oriented. As a result, you usually achieve a lot in whatever you undertake, and you do it passionately, sometimes clearly ignoring your work-life balance.
• You have insanely high standards in your professional and personal life. Yet, you can remain stoically loyal to a fault while still feeling intimidated by the large gap between you and the people you surround yourself with, thus becoming unemotional and cold in the long run.
• Your mind is always racing, and you can’t even process your own thoughts at all times. You can talk a lot, be totally restless, have nervous habits such as biting your nails and even engage in alcohol or substance abuse as an unhealthy coping mechanism.
• You usually can’t enjoy the moment and simply relax. Instead, you are either anxiously planning for the future, nostalgically dwelling on the past, or merely feeling guilty that you’re “wasting time” instead of getting something done.
• You often overthink and procrastinate, after which you destroy yourself with crunch-time work and deadline-driven overtime hours. You overanalyze and sometimes fail your future plans and ambitions, waiting for things to get perfect.
• You find it hard to say no and perceive every request as a challenge you can’t turn down. As a result, you have a rather unhealthy schedule and sometimes limited social and intimate life.
• You experience physical and psychosomatic symptoms such as sleep disturbances, fatigue, muscle tension, and sometimes even a tingling sensation in the area of your head, shoulders, or arms.

 

Last but not least, some experts argue that a high IQ is also closely connected with high-functioning anxiety. In fact, a 2005 study found that financial managers with high anxiety levels made the best money managers as long as they also had a high IQ.

 

Is It Normal to Have High-Functioning Anxiety?

 

Though not an official mental health disorder, high-functioning anxiety is definitely not the optimal state of mind. Furthermore, if the condition goes untreated, it can easily progress into a generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive behavior, or depression.

 

Suppose you spot and recognize a tendency toward the behavior described above. In that case, you are highly advised to consult a mental health professional and address the issue before it escalates beyond your control.

 

How to Deal With High-Functioning Anxiety?

 

The high-functioning anxiety treatment is very similar to the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder. It can include therapy, prescription medications, or a combination of both.

 

Of course, reaching out to a certified mental health practitioner is always the best thing you can do. But still, there are different tips you can try in the meantime in order to manage the difficulties caused by high-functioning anxiety.

 

Some techniques you can try to implement into your everyday routine include:

 

• Build a self-care routine that circles around relaxation, mindfulness, and rest. Take 10 minutes a day to practice meditation or other mental health techniques to teach your mind and body how to simply do nothing.
• Reflect and work on your thought patterns. Try to limit pessimistic predictions, competitiveness, and assumptions that you will let yourself (or somebody else) down by taking your personal time off.
• Try to maintain a regular sleeping pattern. Sleep deprivation will gradually worsen your anxiety, and taking eight hours of sleep during the night will balance your stress hormones on an entirely physical level.
• Mind your lifestyle. Little details can change a lot, so begin with limiting your caffeine intake, eating more fresh and raw food, and exercising at least two times a week outdoors, if not more.
• Practice healthy egoism. Learn how to say no to things you don’t want to do, delegate responsibilities, and don’t overthink for years before you leave unsatisfying relationships that drag you down emotionally.

 

Finally, get ready to let your high-functioning anxiety go. You will be the same person with the same qualities even when your unhealthy overachiever mentality is far gone. With just one essential difference – you will have replaced anxiety with calmness and peace.