What to Do When Feeling 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 When Feeling 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 - Interoceptive awareness
Practice noticing and naming body sensations neutrally, so they stop reading as alarms.
The Anxiety Toolkit, Made Practical - Allow the sensations without resisting
Let the physical feelings of anxiety be present instead of bracing against them.
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 - 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 - 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 - Postpone rather than eliminate reassurance-seeking
When you feel the urge to check or ask, wait 20 minutes first — and usually the urge passes.
Accepting Uncertainty: The Core Skill in CBT for GAD - 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 - Strengthen the observing self
Notice that there is a "you" watching your thoughts — that witness is stable even when thoughts are not.
Defusion from Anxious Thoughts - Apply defusion to reassurance-seeking urges
When you feel the urge to check or seek reassurance, defuse the urge itself, not just the content.
Defusion from Anxious Thoughts
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
- The instant I feel my heart skip or my chest tighten, I’m sure something is really wrong with me, and the fear of the sensation spins it into something bigger
- The second I feel my heart pound or my chest tighten I clench up and try to force it to stop, and the fighting just cranks it higher
- My mind is racing off into every worst-case "what if" and I’m barely in the room anymore
- I spend my days bracing for the next wave of it, scanning my body, dreading the moment it shows up
Related concerns
- How To Deal With Anxious Feeling
Put the emotion into words — "I’m feeling anxious" — to take some heat out of it.
Name it to tame it (affect labeling)
- How To Stop Anxiety Creeping In
Once the edge comes off, redirect attention fully into an activity or your surroundings.
Engage with the present moment
- How To Stop Feeling Anxious When You Are Overwhelmed
Actively invite more of the anxiety rather than waiting nervously for it to pass.
Run toward the feeling
- What Should We Do When We Feel Anxiety
Let the physical feelings of anxiety be present instead of bracing against them.
Allow the sensations without resisting
- What To Do When Anxiety Creeps In
Once the edge comes off, redirect attention fully into an activity or your surroundings.
- What To Do When Anxiety Is Constant
Actively invite more of the anxiety rather than waiting nervously for it to pass.
Describe your situation in your own words to search the complete practice library.