4 Mindfulness Techniques to Help Reduce Anxiety

Now that the new year is upon us, many of us have left the stressors from the holiday season behind us and have started craving a desire to focus on ourselves. The holidays can bring a lot of positives into our lives including connection with family and friends, receiving meaningful gifts from those we love, and time off from our regular responsibilities. However, the holidays can leave many of us feeling drained, burned out, and ready to feel different.

This feeling of “different” that so many people are searching for might be feeling less anxious, more at peace, more clear-minded, or feeling more alive. Whatever it is that you want for yourself this year, using mindfulness techniques can help you gain clarity and feel more emotionally healthy and resilient.

What is Mindfulness and How Does it Reduce Anxiety?

Mindfulness, as a therapeutic practice and tool, refers to the practice of paying focused and non-judgmental attention to the present moment. It helps people become more aware of the thoughts and feelings that they are having, the sensations in their bodies, and what is in or happening in their surrounding environment. 

Mindfulness helps reduce anxiety and stress by helping people stay present in the moment without judgment or attachment to anxious and overwhelming thoughts. Because anxiety often arises from worries about the future or ruminations about the past, mindfulness also helps decrease anxiety as it shifts the focus to the present. Mindfulness also involves treating ourselves with kindness and compassion which can help reduce self-criticism and promote acceptance of our imperfections and struggles.

Let’s talk further about 4 mindfulness techniques that you can start using today.

Deep Breathing

Deep breathing refers to any slow, controlled, and intentional breathing technique that aims to promote relaxation and increased oxygen flow. It often focuses on slow inhalations and exhalations and breathing deeply into your lungs. Focusing on your breath is one of the most common and effective mindfulness techniques as it anchors you to the present moment and quickly calms your nervous system during times of stress and anxiety.

This technique helps reduce anxiety in several ways. Slow, deep breaths trigger the parasympathetic nervous system which reduces the body’s fight or flight response that is activated when you feel anxiety. Deep breathing also increases oxygen to your brain which improves your overall mental clarity and ability to relax. By concentrating on your breath, it can refocus your attention away from anxious thoughts and towards the present moment instead.

Try This Deep Breathing Exercise:

1. Sit or lie down in a comfortable position. 

2. Breathe in deeply through your nose for 4 seconds. 

3. Hold your breath for 4 seconds and then exhale slowly and completely through your mouth for 6 seconds. 

4. Repeat this pattern for several minutes or until you start to feel more relaxed and less anxious.

Practicing Gratitude

Take a few moments every day to reflect on what you’re grateful for. This mindfulness practice encourages you to be fully present and appreciative of your life in that moment. Rather than allowing your mind to wander into anxious and negative thoughts about the future or the past, reflecting on what you’re grateful for means that you’ll be able to identify the things you appreciate about your current circumstances and focusing less on what might happen.

Practicing gratitude also activates the brain’s reward system which releases feel-good neurotransmitters that promote positive emotions and helps calm down the nervous system. This helps to bring a sense of well-being, safety, and contentment which counteracts some of the negative and anxious thoughts.

There are many ways to practice gratitude and I encourage you to find the one that resonates most with you. Some effective and common ways include journaling, meditating, and verbally expressing what you are grateful for.

Observing Your Thoughts

Observing your thoughts, which is sometimes called thought monitoring or cognitive observation, helps reduce anxiety by creating a healthy distance between you and your anxious thoughts. When you observe your thoughts without becoming attached to them, you start to see that these thoughts are just mental events and not necessarily the truth or a fact.

To practice this, imagine that your thoughts are clouds passing by in the sky. Observe them without judgment or attaching to them and let them float away as they come and go. Being an observer of your thoughts allows you to view your experience from a more objective perspective which helps to reduce strong emotions from attaching to negative thoughts.

Grounding with Your Feet, Mindful Walking, and Noticing Nature

These are all separate techniques you can use but I think it’s great if you can do all of these together. 

To Ground Your Feet:

• Sit or stand with both feet firmly planted on the ground. 

• Focus on the sensations that you feel in your feet as they make contact with the ground. 

When You’re Walking Mindfully: 

• Pay close attention to the sensations of not only your feet but of your body as you walk.

• How do your legs feel when you move them? 

• How are your feet connecting with the ground? 

• What is your breathing pattern like?

Spend Some Time Observing Your Environment: 

• Is there nature that you can see, like a tree, plant, or the sky? 

• Notice the smaller details about these things that occur in nature.

• Allow them to bring you into the present moment.

The Long-Term Benefits of Mindfulness

Mindfulness techniques are highly effective in reducing stress and anxiety. They help you focus on the present moment instead of worrying about the future or ruminating about the past. Mindfulness helps you to cultivate awareness of yourself and your environment. It also allows you to manage your thoughts in a non-judgmental way and break the cycle of overthinking that fuels anxiety. You’ll be able to respond to stressors with greater clarity and calmness. The benefits are helpful for both short-term and long-term management of your emotional well-being so give it a try! 

We understand that managing anxiety and stress can feel overwhelming at times. While mindfulness techniques are powerful tools for finding calm and clarity, you don’t have to navigate this journey alone. Our experienced therapists specialize in anxiety treatment and can help you develop personalized strategies along with mindfulness to manage stress and anxiety.

If you're ready to take the next step toward feeling more balanced and at peace, schedule a free consultation with us today and start your path to healing.

How We Can Help

If you are looking for general support, or if you would like to talk to someone more about how we can help you, follow these simple steps:

1. Contact us today for a free 20-minute phone consultation

2. Or, you can book directly online with the therapist of your choice

3. Begin your journey towards a calmer, more relaxed life

Author Biography

Pansy Ayala is a licensed therapist with Catalyss Counseling and specializes in treating adults with anxiety, depression, grief and loss, and relationship issues. She uses a holistic, individualized approach to better understand who you are, what areas of your life you find problematic, and how you can reach your goals. She especially enjoys working with parents. Follow Catalyss Counseling on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram.

Other Therapy Services Available at Catalyss Counseling:

Here at Catalyss Counseling, we want to meet all of your counseling needs in the Denver area. Our supportive therapists provide depression counseling, therapy for caregiver stress, grief and loss therapy, stress management counseling, and more. We also have specialists in trauma and PTSD, women's issues, pregnancy and postpartum depression or anxiety, pregnancy loss and miscarriage, and birth trauma. For therapists, we can also provide clinical supervision! We look forward to connecting with you to help support your journey today.