Soothing Anxiety with Havening
Maybe it’s a knot in the stomach, constantly feeling on edge, racing thoughts or all the above and more.
“Hello Anxiety!” You sarcastically think to yourself, you couldn’t have come at a better time!
As you reflect back on the past few weeks, you realize how busy you have been at work, how nervous you have been feeling about the upcoming family get together and who could forget the endless mind traps of future worst-case scenarios. It all feels too real, and you really need it to go away right now! Although, there is not one magical thing to make anxiety go completely away even though we wish it would at times. There is a technique and a practice that can help decrease your feelings of anxiety.
Havening comes from the word Haven and mean a safe space. By doing three self-soothing moves, you have the power to calm the amygdala (fight, flight, freeze response of the brain) and bring the pre-frontal cortex (thinking part of the brain) back on-line.
There is power in touch, and it has been discovered that our skin has tiny receptors called C-tactile fibers that transmit sensory information from touch on our skin to our brains. The three main areas that hold the most C-tactile fibers and can produce Delta waves and increase levels of Gabba and Serotonin are the palms of hands, upper arms and around the eyes/cheeks.
Are you ready to soothe the anxiety?
Think of at least 3 neutral distractions that can be used while havening so the amygdala can have another job to do. For example:
1 movement- Imagine you are dribbling and shooting a basketball, counting strokes while swimming, kicking ball into a net 10 times.
1 song or category game- Name types of food through each letter of the alphabet, hum your favourite tune.
1 count up or down by 2’s, 3’s or 5’s.
Once you have created your distractions, sense the anxiety that you have been feeling. Internally, what do you notice and what are some of the thoughts?
Rate the anxiety you are feeling right now on a scale of 1-10
Start the Havening touch by rubbing palms of hands together, rubbing upper arms and around the eyes and cheeks. You can go in any order. Find a pressure, pace and part that feels the most comfortable for you. Some people prefer just the hands while other people prefer a mix of all of them.
While havening, do at least one round of three distractions and then check in with yourself again and rate the level of anxiety. If the anxiety has not lowered or didn’t make much of a difference, try some more distractions and/or slowing down the soothing touch.
What do you rate the anxiety now? Maybe you noticed that it’s no longer anxiety but stress or sadness. This can happen as often the anxiety is a signal that something is underneath it.
You have the power to help soothe the anxiety.
