Next time anxiety hits, try one of these | Georgia Telehealth Therapy

When you are trapped in an anxiety spiral, your mind is racing too fast to listen to reason. Someone telling you to just calm down is practically useless in this state. Instead, give me the next 5 minutes. We are going to walk through five physical steps together to get you 30 seconds of total relief. Right now, your body is in fight or flight mode. We need to manually override that panic response by turning on your parasympathetic nervous system. the network responsible for slowing down your heart and lungs. Before we start, gather what you need. Find a sturdy place to sit or stand. Pick up an everyday object right nearby and either grab an ice cube or

walk over to a sink. When your mind is stuck in a loop, physical actions are the only reliable way to break the circuit and bring you back to the present. Step one, look around the room right now and find distinct things you can see. Name them out loud. Maybe a lamp or a chair, even a window, whatever is in front of you. You have to actually speak the words. If you list them internally, the spiral continues. Forcing your brain to process language externally pulls your focus out of your head. Step two, plant both of your feet flat on a hard floor. Now, push down with deliberate force. Notice the floor pushing back. You want to

feel that upward resistance activating the muscles in your calves and thighs. These first two steps anchor you to the room. By feeling the floor and naming objects, you're feeding your brain hard physical evidence that you are safe right here, stopping the sensation of a mental freefall. Now for step three, take that ice cube and grip it tightly in your hand or splash freezing cold water on your face. Focus entirely on that intense biting cold. This triggers what biologists call the mamalian dive reflex. The sudden exposure to severe cold forces your heart rate to drop instantly to conserve oxygen. We keep that heart rate down with step four, box breathing. This specific breathing pattern lowers cortisol

levels and sends an allclear signal to your nervous system. This protocol is actively used by Navy Seals and emergency responders to regulate their nervous systems in the middle of severe crisis. Start by inhaling slowly through your nose. We'll count it together. 1 2 3 4. Now hold that breath at the top. 2 3 4. Exhale slowly. 2 3 4. And hold empty at the bottom. Do not skip this hold. 2 3 4. By seizing manual control of respiration and temperature, you are cutting off the physical fuel supply. The brain cannot maintain a state of panic when the body locks into this calm rhythm. We finish with step five. Pick up the everyday object you grabbed

earlier. Start describing it out loud in ridiculous excessive detail. Look closely at it. Is it heavier on one side? Are there tiny micro scratches near the base? What exact shade of blue is it? This task forces your brain to fire up its observation and language centers simultaneously. When you flood your conscious mind with dense, mundane sensory data, you use up mental potacity. There is literally no processing power left over to keep the anxiety spiral spinning. Take a breath. If you followed along, you've successfully wrestled control away from your nervous system. You've earned 30 seconds of quiet. But let's be realistic. Grounding techniques are emergency breaks. They keep you from crashing in the moment, but they

aren't going to fix the engine or cure the underlying anxiety. If you find that anxiety is degrading your daily work, keeping you awake at night, or straining your personal relationships, it's time to build a long-term strategy that requires professional support. Coping and healing counseling, or CHC, is designed to help you build a permanent, comprehensive mental health toolkit. CHC operates a secure HIPPA compliant teleaalth network covering all 159 Georgia counties with over 15 licensed therapists. They accept major insurance like Etna, BCBS, and Humanana. For Medicaid, the co-ay is $0. A grounding technique is a great tool to buy yourself a moment of peace, but a licensed therapist will help you reclaim your life. Reach out to

CHC today to get started.