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The breath is always with us, but because it doesn’t take conscious effort to breath, we often don’t even notice how we’re breathing. However, deep breathing and mindfulness-based stress reduction programs have become mainstream and programs can be found around the world in well respected organizations and institutions, and much research has been done to validate its use for stress-related emotional disorders.1 Remember the fight, flight or freeze response I described in Part 1 of this series? If anxiety is impairing your everyday functioning or if you’re just looking for more support, please contact Intake at C. M.H.A. H.K.P.R. at 705-748-6711 or 1-866-990-9956 to find out what programs and services would be best for you. If your anxiety is mild to moderate, not severe, you can also check out the new BounceBack Program, managed by C. M.H.A. Ontario, which is a telephone coaching program for people experiencing mild to moderate anxiety or depression..

In both Part 1 and Part 2, I gave you some grounding techniques to help you return to the present moment, find your support, and actively calm your stress response when it is not needed. The practice of observing and naming physical sensations can create some space between you and the sensations, allowing you to become a compassionate witness to your experience and learn to ride the wave instead of being capsized by it. This non-judgmental naming is quite different from saying “My stomach is clenching, it’s going to go on forever, it’s a bad thing and I need it to st op! By refocusing on any positive, or even neutral sensations that you’re experiencing isn’t to deny the feeling of anxiety, but rather, to help you to realize that there is more to your experience.

In our last blog post, I explained the how anxiety works in the body and that while it is sometimes a necessary and helpful response to threatening situations, it often occurs when there is no threat in the present moment. In that post, I provided the first of a series of grounding techniques to help you to return to the present moment as it is now, not as you fear it to be, and actively calm your stress response when it is not needed. You can engage any of these senses to help ground yourself in the present moment. Have a small piece of chocolate or other food and bring your full attention to the taste, the texture, the feel of it in your mouth.

This alarm system signals the adrenal glands to release adrenaline and cortisol (aka: the stress hormones), which then work to increase your heart rate, give you a boost in energy, heighten your perception and awareness, and increase body tension. In the situation with the rattlesnake, this stress response would help you to respond in the most appropriate way, by either fighting, fleeing, or freezing. When anxiety arises when it’s not necessary, we can learn to tune in to the present moment, actively calm our stress response, ground our awareness in the present moment as it is now, not as we fear it to be, and train the brain to respond in a way that is appropriate for the situation. You can explore different positions and furniture and notice which ones feel most supportive to you. ~ If you’re walking, slow it down and notice how your feet hit the ground.