Relaxation Techniques for Chronic Anxiety

How to relax when living with chronic anxiety

Sometimes it’s hard to relax. We work busy jobs, have personal lives, basic needs to fulfill, and on top of that, we’re living in a COVID world. So even for the everyday person, relaxation can feel like a faraway beach somewhere (literally and figuratively).

But what about when you’re living with chronic anxiety? In that case, relaxation feels like a foreign country with closed borders and they’re definitely not letting us in.

So I’ve put together some helpful tips based on personal experience and (insert Bill Nye voice) science! Enjoy 🤟

Practice Deep Breathing

How many times have you seen this on a list? Probably too many. You know why? Because it works. Deep breathing activates our parasympathetic nervous system (big word for our body’s relaxation response).

Here’s what the University of Toledo has to say: “Deep breathing and relaxation activate the other part of your nervous system, the parasympathetic nervous system, which sends a signal to your brain to tell the anxious part that you’re safe and don’t need to use the fight, flight, or freeze response. Deep breathing gets more oxygen to the thinking brain. Also, by addressing the physical, fight, flight and freeze symptoms directly, you are freeing up mental energy to address other symptoms.”

Watch this quick video to learn how to do deep breathing:

Schedule Relaxation Minutes

You didn’t know this would involve a super sexy calendar plan, did you? Yes, I said schedule relaxation minutes. What I mean is, when you have chronic anxiety or are living in a state of constant overdrive, you do not simply relax. In my experience, the best way to help myself move closer into a state of relaxation, I need to give myself permission to step away.

Permission to put my phone down. Permission to breathe. And for me, that means creating a schedule! I honor appointments to others and have found that I can honor appointments to myself in the same way.

Start with 10 minutes of scheduled relaxation time.

Put it on your calendar at some point in the day and don’t miss the appointment. Simply remove yourself from whatever situation you’re in and give yourself permission to practice your breathing, listen to calming music, or meditate.

Move and Breathe (at the same time)

If sitting still and breathing is not your cup of tea and actually makes you feel MORE anxious just thinking about it, I’ve got another tip for you. There have been scholarly studies that show we can improve our emotional state by linking our breath with our movements.

This could be through a simple workout, walking, yoga, dance, whatever movement you want. The key is actively linking your breath with each and every movement. Inhaling with one movement, exhaling with another…and so on and so forth.

The key is keeping the breath at focus and allowing any negative, neutral, or even happy emotions to simply pass through you.

Go to Therapy

If none of these techniques feel like they’re working, it’s best to speak with a professional who can help address the core drivers in your anxiety. Medication, therapy, or a combination of both could be the best thing to help you begin to release some of your anxious state so you can truly feel relaxed, even if just for a moment.

Online therapy:

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline toll-free at 800-273-8255.

Photography by Mackenzie Leigh