What to Do If Anxious? 10 Coaching Practices to Try
Describe almost anything you are working through and IX Coach finds the practices whose real-world fit is closest. For What to Do If Anxious, these are the strongest matches in the current practice library.
Practices that may help
- Engage with the present moment
Once the edge comes off, redirect attention fully into an activity or your surroundings.
The DARE Response to Anxiety, Made Practical - Use grounding before anxiety peaks, not after
Start the technique at the first sign of anxiety — not once the wave is overwhelming.
The 5-4-3-2-1 Grounding Technique - Balanced, compassionate self-talk
Talk to yourself as you would to a friend — accurate and kind, not harsh or falsely cheery.
The Anxiety Toolkit, Made Practical - Run toward the feeling
Actively invite more of the anxiety rather than waiting nervously for it to pass.
The DARE Response to Anxiety, Made Practical - The 5-4-3-2-1 grounding technique
Name five things you see, four you hear, three you feel, two you smell, one you taste.
The Anxiety Toolkit, Made Practical - Defuse the catastrophic thought
Meet the "what if" with a neutral "so what / whatever" instead of arguing or believing it.
The DARE Response to Anxiety, Made Practical - Interoceptive awareness
Practice noticing and naming body sensations neutrally, so they stop reading as alarms.
The Anxiety Toolkit, Made Practical - Rehearse the response before you need it
Learn and practice the four steps in low-stakes moments so they are available under pressure.
The DARE Response to Anxiety, Made Practical - Run the full 5-4-3-2-1 sequence
Work through all five senses in order: 5 things seen, 4 heard, 3 touched, 2 smelled, 1 tasted.
The 5-4-3-2-1 Grounding Technique - Combine worry exposure with relaxation skill
After the exposure period, apply a relaxation practice to close each session with a deactivation phase.
Worry Exposure, Made Practical
Does this sound like the set of challenges you might be facing?
- Even once the worst of it passes, I can’t get back into the room
- I always wait until I’m already in full panic to try to calm down, and by then it’s too far gone for anything to work
- The voice in my head when I’m anxious is brutal
- I spend my days bracing for the next wave of it, scanning my body, dreading the moment it shows up
- My mind is racing off into every worst-case "what if" and I’m barely in the room anymore
Related concerns
- What To Do If Im Anxious
Name five things you see, four you hear, three you feel, two you smell, one you taste.
The 5-4-3-2-1 grounding technique
- What To Do When Anxiety Creeps In
Once the edge comes off, redirect attention fully into an activity or your surroundings.
Engage with the present moment
- What To Do When Anxiety Is Bad
Once the edge comes off, redirect attention fully into an activity or your surroundings.
- What To Do When Everything Gives You Anxiety
Once the edge comes off, redirect attention fully into an activity or your surroundings.
- What To Do When Feeling Extremely Anxious
Once the edge comes off, redirect attention fully into an activity or your surroundings.
- What To Do When I M Anxious
Once the edge comes off, redirect attention fully into an activity or your surroundings.
Describe your situation in your own words to search the complete practice library.