Many times life can get busy, out of hand, and overwhelming… or so our minds tell us. Many struggle with facing recurrent thoughts of worry and stress that can get in the way. For others, it is extreme fear, panic, and even anxiety attacks. Many feel that they cannot get away from the thoughts and that they just keep coming!
Tips to Calm Racing Thoughts
Take a deep breath. You are not alone. There are ways to calm your mind when your thoughts seem to be like a race car racing down the track of anxiety. Here are 10 tips to try when you feel your thoughts begin to race, and how you can stop them in their tracks:
- Roll your shoulders: this can help you to feel loose, relaxes your shoulder muscles, and opens your chest. This can help you to feel like you can take a breath and relieve tension.
- Place your hands on your heart: Take a deep breath and place both hands on your heart. Your heart is still beating, your body is doing what it is supposed to do. This can help you to regain awareness of being present in your body.
- Close your eyes: when you are anxious try closing your eyes slightly. This can help to relax your mind, and rid your brain of visual stimuli.
- Get lost in a song: turn the music up, really listen to the lyrics. Focus on the beat and the message of the song.
- Count objects around you: how many blue squares can you find, how many things are orange, how many things are round? Distracting your mind can help to ground you, and distract your worried thoughts.
- Recall a heartwarming memory: take yourself back to a time when you were happy. What was happening, how were you feeling, who was there, where were you? Remembering a happy event in detail can trigger your brain to bring back those happy feelings you felt during that time.
- Try 6 slow exhales: breath in deeply and then exhale repeat 6 times while visualizing your body relaxing.
- Look at the sky: focus on nature and the big picture of life. Wonder how the clouds make the shapes they do, let your mind wander in wonder about the world outside in nature. Sometimes removing ourselves from the setting where our anxious thoughts began can help give a new perspective and calm.
- Wiggle your toes: take 3 deep breaths while wiggling your toes. Focus on how your socks or shoes feel on your feet. Are your toes sore, tense, or tight? Does it feel good to wiggle them? Do you notice the feeling in each toe? Again distracting yourself to another part of your body can help you to feel calmer.
- Give your racing mind a funny name: ok, yes this one sounds strange, but take away the power of guilt, embarrassment, and fear caused by having racing thoughts. Create a funny name that can bring humor to them. Consider a name you that makes you laugh.
You can Retrain Your Brain to be Calm
In time, with distractions and awareness, you can regain control of your thoughts and reactions to those thoughts by using the given tips. Thought are just that, thoughts! It does not mean they are true, always right, predictable, and black and white. Thoughts are there as a precursor to danger, but over time since we are not in the animal kingdom anymore, those thoughts can be tricky. We no longer need to expect predators in our worlds, but our minds can go back to the evolutionary times of when we had to run! Retrain your brain to know it is not time to run, but to relax and calm down those thoughts. It takes practice and time, but you can do it!
