Overcoming Anxiety: 9 Simple Exercises & Strategies for Anxiety

Fear is the body's natural response to danger. But when it becomes overwhelming, it can limit your life enormously. The good news is that there are many strategies and exercises that can help you manage and reduce fear. In this blog post, we will introduce you to 3 simple and effective exercises that can help you anxiety management You will also learn 6 anxiety management strategies that can help resolve your fear in the long term. 

Are you ready? Then let's get started right away.

What is anxiety management? Definition

Before we start with the anxiety management exercises and strategies, here is a short overview and definition: 

Anxiety management is the process through which people can learn to deal with and control their fears, which means it significantly improves the quality of life. Various techniques and methods from behavioral therapy, coaching and trauma therapy are used.

The 2 main goals of anxiety management are: 

• Develop strategies to acute anxiety regain control over feelings and body reactions (e.g. racing heartbeat, sweating, dizziness or shortness of breath)
• Identifying the causes of fear in order to to resolve in the long term (anxiety prevention)

Some techniques that can help manage anxiety include relaxation exercises, breathing techniques, meditation, mindfulness, physical activity, and social support. These techniques can help reduce feelings of anxiety and increase the ability to cope with difficult situations. 

Anxiety Management & Psychology

Constant anxiety and panic attacks can lead to great psychological stress A common phenomenon is to develop a “fear of fear” – that is, the fear that a loss of control could occur again.

If you do not learn how to manage your anxiety, serious anxiety disorders such as social phobia. If you notice or suspect that you feel great fear in otherwise harmless situations, you should seek therapeutic help. 

Anxiety Management with Behavioral Therapy

One of the best-known anxiety management therapies is cognitive behavioral therapy, a form of psychotherapy. It is based on the assumption that our behavior and our thoughts are linked and that by changing our behavior we can also influence our thoughts and feelings.

Techniques such as systematic desensitization, exposure therapy or cognitive restructuring Through systematic desensitization, the patient is gradually introduced to the fear-inducing situations in order to reduce the fear reaction. In confrontation therapy, the patient is directly confronted with the fear-inducing situations in order to alleviate the fear reaction.

Cognitive restructuring involves replacing negative thoughts that contribute to anxiety with positive and more realistic thoughts. relaxation techniques for anxiety can help reduce physical symptoms of anxiety and calm the psyche.

Through these techniques, the patient learns to control and reduce the fear response and can thus develop a better understanding of his or her fear and manage it better. 

However, in an acute anxiety-provoking situation, you cannot quickly book an appointment with your therapist. In this case, you can simple exercises to manage anxiety take advantage of: 

Anxiety management: exercises for acute feelings of anxiety

Important NOTE: If you suffer from an anxiety disorder, please discuss the use of these short-term strategies with your psychotherapist first!

Tip: Click here for more exercises to combat fear and panic. 

Anxiety Management Exercise #1: 5-4-3-2-1 Method

The 5-4-3-2-1 method is a simple and effective anxiety management exercise based on Yvonne DolanThe method is easy to learn and can be quickly applied to calm the body and reduce catastrophic thinking and negative feelings.

You focus your attention on your sensory perception: Find…

• 5 things you see
• 4 things you hear
• 3 things you feel
• 2 things you smell
• 1 thing you taste

This method is basically based on the principle of distraction. 

Anxiety Management Exercise #2: 10 Rules of Anxiety Management

The 10 rules for managing fear are a kind of guide to dealing with an anxiety-provoking situation and breaking through the fear. Here you will find detailed information about the 10 Rules for Fear. 

Anxiety Management Exercise #3: Breathing Technique: Pumping Up the Lungs

This breathing technique is as simple as it is effective in reducing severe anxiety, panic attacks and anxiety symptoms. you take a short breath and then hold your breath for 1 to 2 seconds. Then breathe in briefly and hold your breath again for 1 to 2 seconds, etc. Do this until your lungs are full. Then blow the air out slowly and evenly with your mouth pursed as if through a straw. 

Repeat the exercise until you notice your fear and physical reactions decreasing. 

How can I face my fear? 6 fear management strategies for prevention 

These anxiety management strategies are suitable for your to resolve fear in the long term, instead of just treating the acute symptoms. Because ultimately, you don't just want to learn to endure the fear, you want to get rid of it once and for all - right? 

Important NOTE: These strategies are suitable for self-application when you are emotionally stressed. If you have been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder, be sure to consult your psychotherapist! Do not use these techniques alone. They can have a strong effect on your psyche and initially cause your own anxiety to worsen. 

Our recommendation: Resolve fears quickly and sustainably with Palmtherapy 

PALMTHERAPY means palm therapy and is a method with which emotional burdens such as fear and stress can be sustainably resolved. 

PALMTHERAPY is a more advanced form of acupressure, but is considered an independent method. The most important difference between acupressure and PALMTHERAPY is that PALMTHERAPY on the psyche and acupressure mainly affects body and organ functions. 

If you haven't heard of PALMTHERAPY yet, you're probably interested in how the method is supposed to work.

The short version is: On the printing of certain acupressure points on the hand should the hand-brain connection This connects the pressure points with the emotional center of the brain and can therefore positively influence our feelings – and also Resolve fears and blockages. 

PALMTHERAPY is already inspiring over 500 therapists and 10,000 patients. The effect of PALMTHERAPY was investigated in a randomized double-blind study and published in the renowned Oxford Medical Journal:

Here you can learn more about how PALMTHERAPY works: 

Can acupressure have a positive effect on the psyche and depression?

Transform fear into calm with acupressure: 3 pressure points

Combating inner restlessness with acupressure: does it work?

Tip: Are you curious about PALMTHERAPY and want to see for yourself how effective it is? Then register here and learn how you can relax in seconds using your hands calm and focus can:

progressive muscle relaxation

Progressive muscle relaxation is a simple and effective method for relaxation, which can be used in the treatment of anxiety disorders, among other things. It was developed by the doctor and psychologist Edmund Jacobson and is based on the idea that a state of relaxation in the body can be achieved through targeted tensing and relaxing of the muscles.

In progressive muscle relaxation, certain muscle groups are consciously tensed and then relaxed again. This alternation between tension and relaxation leads to a feeling of deep relaxation and can help reduce physical symptoms of anxiety such as muscle tension, heart palpitations, or sweating.

Progressive muscle relaxation can also help increase awareness of the physical symptoms of anxiety and help the patient to better recognize and control these symptoms. Through regular practice, the patient can learn to consciously regulate their muscle tension and thus reduce physical stress and the anxiety response.

autogenic training

Autogenic training is based on the idea that a state of relaxation and inner peace can be achieved through targeted concentration on certain physical sensations.

By repeating certain formulas How "I am calm and relaxed" or "My body is warm and heavy" Concentration is directed to physical sensations and the autonomic nervous system is actively influenced. This can reduce physical symptoms of anxiety. By practicing regularly, you can learn to consciously relax your body and thus reduce stress and anxiety.

mental training

Mental training is one of the cognitive strategies for dealing with anxiety. Mental training serves to improve conscious control about your own thoughts and feelings – fear, for example. 

Using various techniques such as visualization, affirmations or self-talk, you can learn to consciously influence your thoughts and attitudes. Positive thoughts and emotions are strengthened, while negative thoughts and emotions are reduced.

Meditation and Hypnosis 

Both methods aim to relaxation of the mind and body and thus reduce stress and anxiety. Through regular practice, it will become easier for you to distance yourself from threatening fearful thoughts and emotions and thus achieve a feeling of inner peace and serenity.

During hypnosis, a hypnotherapist will guide you into a trance-like state of deep relaxation. During meditation, you bring yourself or a guided meditation journey brings you there. In this state, your subconscious is particularly receptive to positive suggestions. This allows you to change negative thoughts and attitudes. 

tapping acupressure

The best known form of tapping acupressure is Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT). The method is based on the theory that negative emotions, beliefs and energy blockages in the body can be released by gently tapping on certain parts of the body.

The fear is initially activated by certain formulations. At the same time, the tapping points are tapped with the fingers - this has a calming effect. However, since tension (due to the fear) and relaxation (due to the tapping) cannot exist at the same time, the more dominant feeling takes over. Therefore, the tapping continues until relaxation takes over. The brain now learns that the supposed danger is not so dangerous after all. Otherwise, your body would not be relaxing. This creates new chains of associations in the brain and our fear can be released. 

Extra tip: Coping with fear in children

Most of the methods presented here are also suitable for dealing with anxiety in children. PALMTHERAPY, the 5-4-3-2-1 method and breathing techniques are particularly suitable. Meditation, hypnotherapy and mental training are also good tools for calming children. However, you should bear in mind that children cannot concentrate for as long as adults and therefore keep the meditations and exercises shorter and simpler. 

Frequently asked questions about anxiety management and anxiety management training