Coping with Anxiety: Practical Tips You Can Use Right Now
Anxiety is one of the most common mental health concerns in the world, and one of the most misunderstood. While everyone feels anxious from time to time, chronic anxiety can become overwhelming and interfere with daily life, relationships, work, and physical health.
At Agape Health & Wellness, we understand that anxiety isn’t just “worrying too much.” It can feel like racing thoughts, constant restlessness, a pounding heart, or even a sense of dread without a clear reason. The good news is that anxiety is treatable and there are simple, practical tools you can start using today to reduce symptoms and feel more in control.
This article breaks down what anxiety really is, and offers research-backed strategies you can use in real time when anxiety shows up.
What Is Anxiety?
Anxiety is your body’s natural response to perceived threat. It’s connected to the “fight, flight, or freeze” system designed to protect you from danger. But when the brain begins to overestimate threat or becomes overly sensitive to uncertainty, this system can misfire, leading to chronic anxiety disorders like generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), panic disorder, social anxiety, or phobias.
Anxiety can show up as:
Racing thoughts
Muscle tension
Insomnia or fatigue
Gastrointestinal issues
Irritability or difficulty concentrating
Avoidance of people, places, or tasks
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, over 30% of adults will experience an anxiety disorder at some point in their lives (NIMH, 2022). But even when anxiety is persistent, it’s also manageable with the right tools and support.
Practical Coping Strategies You Can Use Right Now
These techniques are simple, evidence-informed, and designed to help you interrupt the anxiety cycle as it’s happening. Many of them take only a few minutes.
1. Try the 3-3-3 Grounding Technique
Grounding techniques are essential for managing anxiety in the moment because they bring your attention out of racing thoughts and into the present.
Here’s how the 3-3-3 rule works:
Name 3 things you can see.
Name 3 things you can hear.
Move 3 parts of your body (for example, roll your shoulders, wiggle your fingers, stretch your legs).
This method activates your prefrontal cortex, the part of your brain responsible for decision-making, and helps calm the amygdala, which fuels anxious responses (van der Kolk, 2014).
2. Breathe with Intention
It sounds simple, but controlled breathing has a powerful effect on your nervous system. When you breathe deeply and slowly, you stimulate the vagus nerve, which reduces heart rate and signals to your brain that you are safe (Porges, 2011).
Try this:
Inhale through your nose for 4 seconds
Hold for 4 seconds
Exhale slowly through your mouth for 6–8 seconds
Repeat for at least 1 minute
Research shows that breathwork can reduce both subjective anxiety and measurable physiological symptoms like elevated heart rate and cortisol levels (Zaccaro et al., 2018).
3. Label the Feeling
One of the most overlooked tools for managing anxiety is simply naming what you’re experiencing. When you say, “I’m feeling anxious right now,” or “I’m noticing a tightness in my chest,” you’re engaging the part of your brain responsible for emotional regulation. This process, known as affect labeling, has been shown to decrease activity in the amygdala and increase activation in the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, helping you feel more in control (Lieberman et al., 2007).
Tip: Try writing your feelings down or saying them out loud to yourself in a calm tone. This creates space between you and the emotion.
4. Interrupt Catastrophic Thinking
Anxiety often feeds on “what ifs.” You may find yourself spiraling into worst-case scenarios, even if they’re unlikely. This type of thinking is called catastrophizing, and it reinforces the brain’s stress response.
A helpful CBT-based approach is thought challenging:
Ask yourself: What evidence do I have that this fear is true?
What else could be true?
If the worst happened, how would I handle it?
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is one of the most researched treatments for anxiety, and these strategies are foundational tools for retraining your thought patterns (Hofmann et al., 2012).
5. Move Your Body
Physical movement, especially aerobic activity, can help lower the intensity of anxiety in the body by releasing endorphins, burning off excess stress hormones, and reducing muscle tension. Even a short walk or a few minutes of stretching can make a noticeable difference. A 2018 meta-analysis found that regular physical activity significantly reduces anxiety symptoms across a wide range of populations (Stubbs et al., 2017).
Try:
A brisk 10-minute walk
Light stretching or yoga poses
Dancing to a favorite song
The goal isn’t intense exercise, it’s movement that brings your awareness back to your body in a safe and supportive way.
When to Seek Additional Support
If anxiety is interfering with your work, relationships, daily functioning, or if it’s causing panic attacks, sleep disturbances, or isolation, professional support can make a meaningful difference. At Agape Health & Wellness, our team of licensed providers offers:
Individual therapy focused on anxiety management
Psychiatric care and medication management when appropriate
Trauma-informed, evidence-based interventions like CBT, DBT, and ACT
Integrated care for individuals with co-occurring substance use and mental health disorders
Ready to take the next step?
Contact Agape Health & Wellness to learn more or schedule an appointment with a provider who understands what you’re going through.
References
Davidson, R. J., et al. (2018). Nutritional psychiatry: Towards a new paradigm. Nature Reviews Psychology.
Hofmann, S. G., Asnaani, A., Vonk, I. J., Sawyer, A. T., & Fang, A. (2012). The efficacy of cognitive behavioral therapy: A review of meta-analyses. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 36(5), 427–440.
Lieberman, M. D., et al. (2007). Putting feelings into words: affect labeling disrupts amygdala activity in response to affective stimuli. Psychological Science, 18(5), 421–428.
National Institute of Mental Health. (2022). Any Anxiety Disorder. Retrieved from https://www.nimh.nih.gov
Porges, S. W. (2011). The Polyvagal Theory: Neurophysiological Foundations of Emotions, Attachment, Communication, Self-Regulation. W.W. Norton & Company.
Stubbs, B., Vancampfort, D., Rosenbaum, S., Firth, J., & Schuch, F. B. (2017). An examination of the anxiolytic effects of exercise for people with anxiety and stress-related disorders: A meta-analysis. Psychiatry Research, 249, 102–108.
van der Kolk, B. (2014). The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma. Viking Press.
Zaccaro, A., et al. (2018). How breath-control can change your life: A systematic review on psychophysiological correlates of slow breathing. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 12, 353.
