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No one likes crying in public. But who among us hasn\u2019t had a moment where they burst into tears or had an anxiety attack on the subway, at work, or, say, in the tampon aisle of Walgreens. Not speaking from personal experience or anything (whistles and looks at the sky<\/em>). <\/p>\n\n\n\n Anxiety episodes and disorders are serious, and often need to be treated as such by a doctor. It can take time and practice to nail down a treatment that works for you. However, in those perilous moments of anxiety, we just want a quick fix. Luckily, there are expert-backed tricks you can try to calm yourself down when your emotions bubble up and get the better of you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n More on MSN Health:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 5 signs your stomach ache is not normal<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Hate planks and crunches? Try this abs-sculpting move<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n How to get the best night’s sleep<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Try a breathing technique. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Dr. Sherry Benton, Ph.D., ABPP, the founder and chief science officer of TAO Connect, says that to know how to combat anxiety when it strikes, you have to know what\u2019s going on in your body. For one, she says there\u2019s heightened activity in the amygdala, which plays in a crucial role in processing our emotions and is located in our brain\u2019s limbic system. \u201cYour breathing becomes more shallow and rapid,\u201d she says. \u201cYour heart starts beating faster, and this all feeds into changing your thinking to be more stressed and worried.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Benton says the best way to interrupt this cycle is to change what the body is physically doing. Start with your breathing.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Stop and inhale for four counts, pause, and then breathe out for four counts. While you do this, you can try saying a mantra. Perhaps try thinking \u201cI am\u201d as you breath in, and \u201crelaxed\u201d as you breathe out, Benton suggests. Reena B. Patel, an educational psychologist, parenting expert, and guidance counselor, also recommends the breathing technique, but she says it can be best to start with a different pattern when you\u2019re really worked up: Breathe in for two counts, hold it for four, and breathe out again for two. She says it can also be helpful to picture your breathe on a bell curve as you\u2019re inhaling and exhaling. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s the fastest easiest thing to do if you find yourself feeling really anxious,\u201d Benton says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Challenge your thinking. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00a9 Getty<\/p>\n\n\n\n Benton notes that it can be useful to make a habit of challenging yourself, especially if you\u2019re someone who tends to assume the worst will happen. She offers this example: A student got all As in high school, but gets a C on her first chemistry exam in college. \u201cBy the time she gets to her car after class, she\u2019s convinced herself she\u2019s going to be a complete failure in life, be homeless, and die under a bridge somewhere,\u201d Benton says. \u201cYour head goes to muck. You have thought after thought that feeds your anxiety.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n She says to stop yourself from doing this, you should challenge your thinking. Ask yourself: How realistic is this? Think about what you would tell a friend in the same situation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Gallery: 31 sleep tips for people with anxiety (Health.com)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Write it down. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Benton also says that when you\u2019re spiraling into anxious thoughts, it can help to stop, write down everything you\u2019re worried about, and then consider what you wrote: Is it realistic, or is it an exaggeration?<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00a9 Getty<\/p>\n\n\n\n Distract yourself. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n It can be helpful to call a loved one or do an activity that takes some focus, like a Sudoku puzzle, to distract your mind from its unpleasant thoughts that are magnifying your worries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Try mindfulness meditation. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n There are all kinds of meditation apps you can try that are made to calm you down during the day, while helping you focus on the present moment. \u201cRather than thinking all of those thousand other things, it gives the brain a break,\u201d Benton says. \u201cIt\u2019s turning off the constant conversation in your head so you can be in this moment.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by \u00a0Molly Longman Molly Longman 2 days agoEarly signs of type 2 diabetes can be seen in childrenOvarian cysts can affect fertility, but not how you may think \u00a9 Provided by Refinery29 Inc. No one likes crying in public. But who among us hasn\u2019t had a moment where they burst into tears or had an anxiety […]\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3328,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"tpgb_global_settings":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3327","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"tpgb_featured_images":{"full":["https:\/\/site.hopetoheal.org.za\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/AAHoiEF.jpg",799,959,false],"tp-image-grid":["https:\/\/site.hopetoheal.org.za\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/AAHoiEF.jpg",583,700,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/site.hopetoheal.org.za\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/AAHoiEF-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/site.hopetoheal.org.za\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/AAHoiEF-250x300.jpg",250,300,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/site.hopetoheal.org.za\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/AAHoiEF-768x922.jpg",768,922,true],"large":["https:\/\/site.hopetoheal.org.za\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/AAHoiEF.jpg",799,959,false],"default":"https:\/\/site.hopetoheal.org.za\/staging\/wp-content\/plugins\/the-plus-addons-for-block-editor\/assets\/images\/tpgb-placeholder.jpg"},"tpgb_post_meta_info":{"get_date":"September 19, 2019","get_modified_date":"September 19, 2019","category_list":{"category":[{"term_id":19,"name":"News","slug":"news","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":19,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":238,"filter":"raw"}],"post_tag":false,"post_format":false},"author_name":"Hope To Heal","author_url":"https:\/\/site.hopetoheal.org.za\/staging\/author\/hope2233\/","author_email":"webmaster@hopetoheal.org.za","author_website":"","author_description":"Our mission is for women and children to live free from violence and abuse and to provide quality, compassionate, and nonjudgmental services in a manner that fosters self-respect and independence in persons experiencing domestic violence and child abuse and to lead the struggle to end domestic violence through advocacy and community education.","author_facebook":"","author_twitter":"","author_instagram":"","author_role":["administrator"],"author_firstname":"Hope To","author_lastname":"Heal Foundation","user_login":"Hope2233","author_avatar":"
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