There are a lot of useful strategies for coping with anxiety and the 3 3 3 rule is just one of many effective techniques.
The 3 3 3 technique is great for panic attacks, as well as being useful when our general anxiety levels are high. Having strategies like this in your arsenal of go to methods to deal with anxiety is a very useful thing to have, and today we are going to look at a few different techniques including the 3 3 3 rule.
How Do I Do The 3 3 3 Technique?
It really is simple to do. When your anxiety levels are high, all you need to do is take a look around you and name (out loud) 3 things you see. Next, you need to name 3 sounds that you hear. And lastly, move 3 parts of your body. This technique serves a couple of different purposes. Firstly, it is a way to ground yourself in the present moment by being in touch with things that are happening around you right now. This is called mindfulness. Secondly, when we are going through high anxiety or panic attacks, we tend to get completely lost in all of those negative thoughts and feelings that are running through us. Using the 3 3 3 rule is a good distraction from that and helps to occupy our minds with something other than the negative thoughts and feelings.
What Is The 5 4 3 2 1 Technique For Anxiety?
This one is similar to the 3 3 3 technique both in what you need to do and also the effect it should hopefully have on you. It uses the 5 senses of sight, touch, smell, sound and taste. You start with the number 5 and look around and name out loud 5 things you can see. Next we are going to name 4 things that we can touch and then touch them. Try to take notice of how they feel and describe them if you can. Next up is the number 3, so we are going to name 3 sounds that we can hear. 2 is for smells, so name 2 things that you can smell. Lastly, name 1 thing that you can taste. This could be a taste that is still in your mouth from the last thing you ate or it could even be just a piece of gum.
The 4 4 4 Breathing Technique For Anxiety
Another one I use often is the 4 4 4 breathing technique. I don’t know if it actually has a name, but I am going to call it the 4 4 4 technique. It’s pretty straight forward, and 4 is the only number you need to remember. All you need to do is breath in deeply for 4 seconds, hold it for another 4 seconds, breath out slowly for 4 seconds, hold it for 4 seconds and then keep repeating it. This one is a great way to slow everything down when it feels like it is going a million miles per hour. I use this one often, especially when I am trying to go to sleep but my anxiety is too high to relax. Doing this breathing technique for a few minutes helps me to relax and slow everything down so I can allow my body to get the rest it needs. I also use it during times when my anxiety levels are high. Just focusing on my breathing and nothing else helps to clear my mind and bring it to the present, as well as calm everything down with the slow breathing.
What Other Techniques Are There To Calm Anxiety?
Another great strategy I picked up from a book called The Reality Slap by Dr. Russ Harris (it’s one of my favourite books for dealing with anxiety and depression, and it is definitely worth a read. He has a few other good books too, like The Happiness Trap) is something called dropping the anchor. It’s just another way of saying to ground yourself in the present, and it is based on mindfulness and acceptance commitment therapy. It only takes 10-15 seconds to do and is a very useful way to bring your mind back to the present when you find it is getting caught up in rushing and negative thoughts. It’s kind of a way to stop yourself from overwhelming yourself.
What you do is push your feet hard into the floor and straighten your spine. When you are doing that, take a slow and deep breath. Now take a look around you and find 5 things that you can see. Next, notice 5 different things that you can hear. Now you need to notice where you are and what you are doing. It really is a great way for dealing with things when a wave of anxiety rushes over you, and is a great way to draw your mind back to the present. You can do this one as many times a day as you need to. Sometimes it also good to do it when you aren’t feeling too much anxiety, as you are essentially practicing mindfulness.
My Preferred Way Of Dealing With Anxiety
After years of struggling with anxiety and panic attacks I came across a strategy called Panic Away. While not the most creative of product names, the value I got from it was immense. They had all sorts of big claims, including claiming that it could eliminate anxiety forever. Initially I thought it would be a load of rubbish, because after more than 10 years of dealing with anxiety there was no way to get rid of it so simple and easily. They offered a 60 day money back guarantee so I let my curiosity get the better of me and decided to buy it.
As it turns out, that was one of the best purchases I have ever made. Nothing has done more for my anxiety than that course has. I’m not going to say it eliminated my anxiety forever, but I will say the anxiety attacks I have are few and far between and I am comfortable with managing them whenever they come up. To give you an indication of how well it worked for me, I used to take on average 2 Valium per day. Now I take 1 per month at the most. Sometimes I will go several months without taking one. The cost of the product was also very cheap and affordable, especially considering the amount of money I was previously spending on Valium.
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