Anxious thoughts and feelings of overwhelm are experiences we have all had at one time or another. Life doesn’t always go as planned or as we would like, and sometimes life throws us some real curve balls. Times of change— even positive habit change— can also pull us out of our comfort zones.
There are many techniques for managing anxious thoughts and emotions during times of change. Some may work for some people but not for others, and some may work for you at certain times but not other times. This is why it’s good to have an assortment of tools in your anxiety management toolbox.
The stress response, also known as the fight-flight-freeze response, describes how we might respond to a perceived threat. Common symptoms of stress and anxiety are tense muscles, feeling restless or “on edge,” headaches, backaches, and trouble concentrating. People who are quitting smoking, as well as their colleagues, family and friends, often experience the process of tobacco treatment to be stressful. The causes of stress vary from managing daily routines and finances to fatigue and unexpected challenges or illness. However, responding to the various life changes that accompany quitting need not undermine quality of life for you and the ones you love.
The pressure of dealing with change—even positive change—can increase stress hormones in the body. These stress hormones (such as epinephrine/adrenaline and norepinephrine) cause physical changes like increased heart and breath rate, blood pressure, and blood sugar that can help prepare a person to dodge a perceived threat. However, chronic stress can also give rise to problems in the immune, digestive, fertility and urinary systems, as well as predispose people to headaches, viral infections, insomnia, and mood imbalances. Evidence from preliminary studies also suggests that psychological stress may influence the growth and spread (metastasis) of cancer. For example, studies in mice and in lab-grown human cancer cells have found that fight-or-flight norepinephrine may promote tumor angiogenesis (growth of new tumor blood vessels) and metastasis.
Relaxation techniques have been found to have the opposite effect on the body by improving the relaxation response, lowering heart rate, breath rate and blood pressure, reducing muscle tension, pain, and fatigue, improving concentration, mood and sleep quality, and boosting confidence and problem-solving. The relaxation response is a technique first developed in the 1970s at Harvard Medical School by cardiologist Dr. Herbert Benson, editor of the Harvard Medical School Special Health Report Stress Management: Approaches for preventing and reducing stress. The relaxation response is a state of rest that can be brought about in various ways. With consistent practice, it becomes easier and easier to tap into your inner realm of calm.
The following list of relaxation methods provides you with a starting point, but is far from exhaustive. Try experimenting with a few to see which ones work best for you. Aim for about 20 minutes each day, though just a few minutes can help. The more often you practice, the more reduction in stress and anxiety you can feel. Reach out to your coach for help with specific problems you are having or for some support in overcoming your anxiety.
Taking long, slow, deep breaths (often referred to as abdominal, belly or diaphragmatic breathing) helps to gently disengage your mind from distracting thoughts and sensations. Breath focus may not be appropriate for people with health problems that make breathing difficult, such as cardiac disease, asthma, COPD or other respiratory conditions.
Visualization is a powerful tool for releasing stress and anxiety in which you invite soothing images into your imagination or picture yourself in a peaceful environment, such as an ocean or meadow. Visualization works to relax your body and calm your thoughts. By simply seeing yourself in a safe, tranquil setting, your mind and body feel as though you are there. You can try using free apps or online audios of calming scenes. Keep in mind that, while guided imagery may help some people, it can be challenging for others who struggle with intrusive thoughts or calling up mental images.
“The time to relax is when you don't have time for it.” – Jim Goodwin & Sydney J. Harris
Progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) is a technique for decreasing the physical or somatic tension in your body and calming anxious thoughts. In PMR, you focus on slowly tensing and then relaxing each muscle group. This can help you to become more aware of the difference between muscle tension and relaxation, between contraction and release. And, through focusing your attention on letting go of stressful bodily sensations, you are also able to quiet your mind. With repeated practice, PMR can help you recognize when your muscles are tight, uncomfortable and contributing to your anxiety. A Body Scan is a type of PMR in which you start by tensing and relaxing the muscles in your toes for 5 seconds then relax for 30 seconds, working your way up to your head. Or alternatively, you can begin with your head and work down toward your toes. As you focus on a part of your body or group of muscles, imagine releasing any physical tension you feel there. Body scans enhance your mind-body connection.
Meditation is the process of acknowledging, quieting and resting our busy minds in support of relaxation, regulation and heightened awareness. It involves compassion, love, and patience. Meditation practice is concentrating one’s focus on something such as an image, sound, or feeling. Examples include repeating a mantra, visualizing or gazing at an object, and observing our breath sensations of inhaling and exhaling.
Meditation needn’t be practiced with any fixed format. Simply aim to keep your heart open, your breath rhythm relaxed, and your seated position comfortable. Hold a flexible space of loving kindness, while bringing your attention into the present moment and away from concerns about the past or the future. "The brain responds to repetition with more gusto than it does to duration," says Daniel J. Siegel, MD, associate clinical professor of psychiatry at the UCLA School of Medicine and author of The Mindful Brain. If you don’t have 20 minutes, you can meditate for just three minutes a day. "Just as people practice daily dental hygiene by brushing their teeth, mindfulness meditation is a form of brain hygiene—it cleans out and strengthens the synaptic connections in the brain." You can meditate for 15 to 20 minutes or just 2 to 3 minutes, while sitting, washing the dishes or walking in the woods, while stopped at a traffic light, or as a brief body scan before bed.
Benefits of Mindfulness and Meditation include: