How To Relief Anxiety Fast

3 min read

I was on the verge of a full-blown panic attack just last week.

I’d had to stand up in front of a crowd of 40+ people and answer questions from a presenter.

My heart rate climbed, my breath shortened, my hands began to get clammy, and my mind started racing – your typical fight or flight response when faced with “perceived” danger.

The presenter was an ex-Marine, so fighting wasn’t an option – and it took all of my willpower not to turn around and run from the room. I needed a tool for how to relief anxiety fast.

My only option was to “be the mountain”:

Firstly, I became aware of my breath, focusing on taking deep, conscious breaths, whilst only half listening to the presenter
Secondly, I grounded myself down through my feet, feeling the earth beneath me as a source of support
I imagined that source of support coming up through me and into my breaths
I imagined my head was the mountain’s summit, and line between my feet the foot of that mountain
I was actively pulling myself out of my head, and into my being, and my being was solid rock

And that took every ounce of concentration I could muster, whilst also trying to understand what the presenter was asking me what to do.

I was hating every moment of it, willing the presenter to finish and let me sit down. And eventually it ended.

It was a deeply uncomfortable experience, but afterwards I mentally patted myself on the back for getting through it; for being aware of the anxiety building up inside me; for having the presence to recognize it, to take a very small step back from it, and to “act like a mountain” to fend off the rising panic.

And this is my tip to you if you experience similar – be the mountain.

A mountain doesn’t give a rat's a$$ what the presenter is saying to me. It doesn’t give 2 hoots what the others in the room were thinking of me.

It is present; it is powerful; it is bomb-proof.

It is present; it is powerful; it is bombproof.

And that’s how I want you to imagine yourself the next time you sense your anxiety rising.

Stand up now and try it on for size:

Once upright, set your feet shoulder width-apart, your arms resting gently at your sides, palms facing inwards
Feel your feet grounding down into the floor, deeply rooted
Close your eyes if you'd like to, otherwise gently soften the gaze to a point on the floor in front of you
Breathe in deeply through your nose
Pause briefly at the top of the in-breath
Breath out slowly through the nostrils, sensing the warm air flowing outwards
Continue to breathe mindfully this way
Now feel the energy swirling inside your body, the tingling, perhaps the shivers, the heart rate - observe all of these things, and breathe into them
And then imagine pure power rising from the earth beneath you up into your feet, onwards up through your legs, into your belly and torso, across your shoulders and down your arms into your hands and fingers. Raw power, immoveable, rock-like. Feel that solidity.
And continue mindful breathing
Stand there for as long as you desire, basking in that sense of strength.