Everyone often worries and gets upset at some point which is seen as a normal way of life. However, you react when anxiety or anger takes over you is what is important. Do you lose yourself or you find a way around it? 

Being able to be calm in those kinds of moments is often difficult, hence you might need an anxiety therapist to help you stay calm when you’re anxious or angry. 

They have specialists who can help you with strategies familiar to you to help you with anxiety and anger. Here are 5 actionable tips you can try the next time you need to calm down: 

1 – Breathe 

Breathe is arguably the most effective technique for reducing anger and anxiety quickly. When you’re anxious and angry, you tend to take shallow and quick breaths, which sends a message to your brain, causing a positive feedback loop reinforcing your fight or flight response. 

Now, taking long and deep breaths help to disrupt that loop and also calm you down. Several breathing techniques can help you calm down. Notably is the three-part breathing technique that requires you to take one deep breath in and then exhale fully while you pay attention to your body. 

The moment you get comfortable with deep breathing, you can change the ratio of inhalation and exhalation of 1:2. Ensure you slow down your inhalation so that it is twice as long as inhalation. 

2 – Admit That You’re Anxious Or Angry

Intentionally, own up to the fact that you’re anxious or angry whenever you are and make sure you hear yourself utter those words. 

When you can label yourself and say how you feel, allow yourself to express it, the anxiety and anger you are experiencing may decrease. 

3 – Challenge Your Thoughts

Part of being anxious or angry is having irrational thoughts that do not make any sense. These thoughts are often tagged as the “worst-case scenario.” You will often find yourself caught in the “what if” scenario, you can make you sabotage a lot of things in your life. 

Any time you experience one of these thoughts, pause and ask yourself these few questions as follows: 

• Is there any likelihood that this can happen? 
• Has this ever happened to me before? 
• Is this my thought rational at all? 
• What is the worst thing that can happen?

After you have gone through these questions, it is time to reframe the way you think. Rather than saying “I can’t walk across that bridge,” Say to yourself that “there are several people who have walked across that same bridge, and it has never fallen into the water”.

4 – Release The Anxiety Or Anger

Exercise is another way of releasing the anxiety or anger you’re feeling. Engage yourself by going for a walk or run. Once you engage in physical activity, it releases serotonin that will help you to calm down and also feel better. 

However, see to it that you avoid any physical activity that includes the expression of anger such as screaming or punching of walls. These kinds of exercises will increase the anger-feeling, it helps to reinforce the emotions 

5 – Visualize Yourself Calm 

This particular tip requires that you practice the breathing techniques that you have learned. After you have taken a few deep breaths, close your eyes and picture yourself in a calm state. 

See your body relaxed and working through an anxiety-situation or a stressful situation by staying focused and calm. 

If you can successfully create a mental picture of what it looks like to stay calm in a real-life scenario, you can always refer to that situation whenever you feel anxious.