The Best Strategies to Calm Your Nerves: Overcome Anxiety
Overcoming anxiety is possible, and it doesn’t have to be apart of your personality or identity. It doesn’t matter how long you’ve lived with it, what people you’ve attached to because of it, you can be calm, in tune with your emotions, and not let negative circumstances dictate how you think and approach a problem.
However, this is not a simple task to overcome. In fact, even after all the work we put in, our nerves can get the best of us; but it’s important to remember that transforming our minds is not a linear process. When we experience reminders of a painful past, our brain can play tricks to say that something is wrong or unsafe, even when the future is uncertain. Uncertainty and nervousness can breed insecurities, anxiety and even paranoia in our minds if we let them. During these points of trigger, it’s essential to differentiate between overthinking and a gut feeling. A gut feeling (that is if your gut is healthy) can speak to a truth and protect you. Overthinking can feel the same, but is led by fear, an emotion designed to help us survive. It takes over your whole system, making every worry and doubt about the future replay in your mind. Yet, it’s not always accurate and might fold us into making the wrong decision and act rashly.
During these uncertain moments, it’s best to ask yourself, what specifically is the same between my current and previous situation? How are the two different? And Is the decision I want to make based on fear or wisdom?
Wisdom learns from the past, not let the past run our lives in the future. If your uncertainty is very high, the best decision may be to stay in the present and not force yourself to make one just because you don’t want to deal with the anxiety of waiting. Often, the hardest thing to do is the simplest thing and that may be to wait on the right time to decide. For others the vice versa may be true. Keep reading below on how to ease your anxiety so you feel calm as you wait, or calm in the hard decision you’re about to make.
Identify your Level of Nervousness
Why is it important to determine how nervous you are? It gives you clarity in how much your mind and body is affected, and it also leads you to the best strategy to overcome your issue.
Insecurity: feeling self-doubt or lacking confidence, often from not feeling good enough and trapped in comparison.
Anxiety: excessive worrying, negative outlook on the future, which can manifest physically (i.e. symptoms include increased heart rate, sweating, panic attack…etc.)
Paranoia: extreme distrust and suspicion, often creating irrational beliefs that others are plotting against you. It’s a stronghold on your mind that doesn’t easily listen to reason.
5 Physical Calming Techniques:
Your level of nervousness is more than psychological—it’s also physiological. There’s a reason why it’s called your nervous system. Anxiety, paranoia, and any level of nervousness affects your heart rate, blood pressure and rate of breathing. Think of the phrase “you’re raising my blood pressure” or “you’re making my blood boil.” It speaks to the truth of emotions directly being tied to your body’s response to stress.
Below are 5 techniques and strategies to calm your nerves from the ground up: that is letting your body lead your mind into relaxation:
Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR): a self-relaxation technique to physically let go of tension held in your body, by engaging isolated body parts with a muscle contraction followed by relaxing. Click the title for a step by step guide.
Deep Breathing Exercises: another physiological technique relax your body through controlled breathing. Breathing is also directly connected to your heart rate, so this is recommended for those with a racing heartbeat as a trigger response. Controlling your breath, controls your heart rate, and eventually your mind has no option but to calm down.
Low-intensity Cardio: walking especially while meditating or facing triggers unlocks your mind to move forward from repeating the same cycle in your mind. Quite literally you are moving forward with your body. Click for more tips on a focused walking strategy for those who feel stuck mentally.
Yoga and Calisthenics: stretches and engages your body to flow through movement. Applying meditative techniques while flowing strengthens your mind-muscle connection, which also is your ability to understand when your body is tense, where it holds stress, and how it’s connected to your mentality. Click for a follow along video.
Strength Training at home: builds capacity in strength, power and conditioning for transforming your mind and body. It significantly boosts neuroplasticity, which is the ability of the brain to rewire itself and change. With a focused session, you can learn to break old mental habits and live a happy healthy life. Click for another follow along video.
In principle, the higher your state of nervousness, the less physically intense should be your strategy. Meaning, start from the top of the list with Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR) or Deep Breathing techniques. The less intense your triggers are, then the more physically demanding strategy can be ideal. Otherwise, pick what resonates the most with you. Remember, your strategy should be specific to your needs and likes.
Conclusion
By identifying your triggers and practicing self-awareness, you can manage your state of nervousness better. The key is staying present, using calming techniques, and making decisions based on wisdom, and not fear. The featured blogs offer actionable steps to help calm your nerves and achieve peace.
About the Author:
COACH DEE | CERTIFIED PERSONAL TRAINER ACE—CPT, PPSC, TIWL
Deborah Park, known as Coach Dee, is the owner of Drip Training LLC and an ACE Certified Personal Trainer and Health Coach. With a background in architecture and kinesiology from the University of Virginia, she has extensive experience in personal training and athletic coaching in a clinical (physical therapy) setting. Coach Dee combines her scientific knowledge with years of hands-on experience to create programs that empower clients to regain control over their bodies and minds.
Her journey into personal training was deeply influenced by her personal struggles, including recovering from a life-changing car accident that led to PTSD and pain from scoliosis. This experience gave her a unique understanding of the connection between mental health and physical well-being. Coach Dee is committed to helping clients develop resilience, build strength, and rediscover their confidence—no matter the challenges they face.
