Conversing Care

Category: Anxiety & Stress Busting

Calm and slow anxious thoughts and feelings. Find ways to ground yourself and reassure your worry with these coping strategies.

  • Elephant Breathing

    Elephant Breathing

    Overview

    Elephant Breathing is an exercise to reduce anxiety levels and to make you feel relaxed anyone can try.

    Requirements

    You will want to be sitting down on a comfy sofa or bed in a quiet environment so you can take notice of your breathing.

    If you have a medical condition which affects your routine breathing pattern, we advise you seek medical advice before trying new breathing exercises.

    ✋ Are you struggling right now?

    If you or someone else is feeling unsafe or experiencing suicidal thinking, please visit the Urgent Help page now to find what actions you need to take.

    How to

    Sit of lay in a comfortable position, making sure your chest and stomach can expand with little resistance while breathing. Laying on your side is also fine.

    When your ready:

    1. Take in a smooth deep breath for the length it takes you to say “Elephant” to yourself twice.
    2. Now pause and hold your breath for 1 Elephant.
    3. Slowly breath out for 3 Elephants.

    Repeat this pattern of breathing 3 to 5 times in a single sitting.

    Additional

    Saying ‘elephant’ gives you a sense of time while breathing, regulating each individual breath.

    This technique can be used once a day, before bedtime or napping.

    It may take a couple of weeks before you begin to notice its benefits of relaxing your body and regulating your breathing. This is perfectly normal.

  • 1-2-3 Breathing

    Overview

    1-2-3 Breathing is a simple breathing exercise when you notice feeling overwhelmed or want to begin relaxation.

    Requirements

    If you have medical issues to do with breathing, ask a health professional if this breathing exercise is right for you.

    ✋ Are you struggling right now?

    If you or someone else is feeling unsafe or experiencing suicidal thinking, please visit the Urgent Help page now to find what actions you need to take.

    How to

    Find a comfy space to sit or lay down, preferably bring your hand together and rest them on your stomach or chest.

    Notice how your body feels heavy and like it wants to settle into a relaxed position. Allow that to happen in your own time.

    The sequence goes as follows:

    1. Breath in to the count of 1, filling all of your lungs.
    2. Hold your breath for 2.
    3. Release to the count of 3, emptying your lungs.

    The 1-2-3 in the breathing exercise helps you perform ‘structured breathing’, giving yourself some self-regulation.

    Additional

    To get the most benefit from 1-2-3 breathing is to perform it daily, deploying it during moments of feeling overwhelming or that ‘sudden shift in feeling’.

  • Taking Time Out

    Taking Time Out

    Bright alarm clock and stars seamless pattern, vector illustration.

    Overview

    Taking time out is what it says on the tin. You pull yourself out of a situation or environment for a brief moment to calm down, then return.

    If you struggle with self-regulating or sudden outbursts of emotion, this can be hopeful to bring yourself back down into more manageable ranges.

    Requirements

    It will be easier for you to let others around you know that sometimes you need to take some time out for yourself.

    Let trusted people know that “taking a minute” to “cool-down” or “collect yourself” is sometimes necessary to help you “self-regulate”.

    We can’t always share our ways of coping with others but still find the importance in using them so if you think it’s vital you need to pull yourself out of a situation because if you are going to burst.

    Make sure you have prepared a meaningful response as to why you left or others may start asking you questions which can cause you to flare again.

    ✋ Are you struggling right now?

    If you or someone else is feeling unsafe or experiencing suicidal thinking, please visit the Urgent Help page now to find what actions you need to take.

    How to

    Know your triggers: Ask yourself, “what kinds of situations do I find myself thing where I am unable to manage?” “How am I usually feeling in those difficult moments?”

    Your triggers could be a crowded space, intense discussions at work or a challenging conversation with a loved one.

    As you carry on with your day-to-day, you will eventually find yourself in one of these over-stimulated moments where you might think to yourself, “hang on a moment, I need a minute to collect myself.”

    • Politely excuse yourself from the situation and take yourself to a quiet environment.
    • Set yourself a number of minutes to calm yourself down.
    • Use other coping strategies like breathing exercises, counting or mindfulness in this slot of time you have given yourself.
    • When you have finished, return to where you was. If needs be, saying “sorry” can go a long way in notifying people that you needed a moment but now your back in action.

    Sometimes, others will ask as to why you disappeared and this is perfectly normal, specially in work environments.

    Make sure you have an acceptable response to hand in case anyone asks.

    Additional

    It’s always useful to make a plan with others for when you need to take time out for yourself. It reassures them that you are safe and know what you are doing.

    It’s also important for you to know what their reaction will be like and if this is an appropriate coping tool to use during discussed conversations with others.

    We don’t recommend taking more than 5 minute time out because anything close to 10 minutes looks more like a ‘break’ than a way of coping.