Tools for Anxiety Management

When we think about an eating disorder, most of us immediately think about food and body, and how someone is engaging with it as well as one's relationship with it. While yes, this is accurate, what we think less about, is the fact that an eating disorder is a mental health illness. As such, what we see in our Youth Intensive Virtual Recovery Program all the time, is that most individuals who come for support with their eating disorder also struggle greatly with anxiety.

For some, their anxiety is one of the trigger for their eating disorder symptoms, while for others, their anxiety is due to their eating disorder (triggered by symptoms, caused by inadequate nutrition and/ or low body weight, etc). Regardless of which came first and why, what is abundantly clear is that in supporting one through recovery, we must also be addressing one's anxiety and providing tools for anxiety management.

Over the years, I have compiled a wonderful “tool box” of various tools to manage anxiety. Today, I want to focus in on 5 of my favourite mindfulness tools for anxiety management, as they are free, tangible and always available to you. And remember, mindfulness is a practice. It doesn’t always “work” immediately or all the time, BUT when practiced consistently, these tools can have a profound impact on your mental health and quality of life.

5 Tools for Anxiety Management:

1. Tapping, also called emotional freedom technique (EFT), is a stress relief technique combining acupressure and psychology. I love using the tapping solution app to guide me through quick tapping meditations when I feel big emotions arise (such as anger, anxiety, fear, etc). These are short (most under 10 minutes), tangible, and really accessible. This is such a great tool for those who struggle to simply sit still and meditate.

2. Guided meditations: While you don’t need anything at all to meditate (just yourself, a quiet spot and your breath), I find it helpful to use a guided meditation to support this journey. There are so many great resources for free guided meditations, but here are my favourites:

   • Insight Timer is a free meditation app with thousands of guided meditations. I love this because I can simply type into the search bar what I am feeling (i.e. anxious, nervous, tired, etc.) and appropriate meditations for what I am looking for (ranging in duration of time) will show up. This is a great way to explore what you like and what works for you.

   • Power Thoughts Meditation Club: This YouTube channel has the most incredible collection of guided meditations, affirmations, hypnosis, solfeggio frequencies and mantra chanting. If you have never explored the world of mindfulness and meditation before, this may be a very new experience, but I can honestly say that the guided meditations here have been transformative.

   • Boho Beautiful: This YouTube channel has beautiful guided meditations (and yoga flows!) that are really tangible for everyone, even those starting their meditation journey.

3. Daily gratitude journal + intentions: I love beginning my day with journaling. If you find free writing intimidating, begin with jotting down 3-5 things you are grateful for each day and possibly setting a daily intention (“I am grateful for…” + “My intention for today is…”). If you want some more guidance here, I absolutely love the 5 minute journal for quick and meaningful morning and evening prompts.

4. 4 Square Breathing: This is a pattern of breath work to help reduce stress and calm your nervous system. Begin by taking a moment to sit comfortably in a position that allows breath to flow freely (in a seated meditation position, on a chair with back straight and feet on ground, or even lying flat on back).

   How to do square breathing:

   • Begin by slowly exhaling all of your air out.

   • Then, gently inhale through your nose to a slow count of 4.

   • Hold at the top of the breath for a count of 4.

   • Then gently exhale through your mouth for a count of 4.

   • At the bottom of the breath, pause and hold for the count of 4.

5. 54321 Grounding Exercise: Begin by sitting comfortably and simply noticing your breath. Allow these breaths to slowly bring you into the present moment. When I struggle to find my breath here I think “each breath is a gift so I give it my presence”. Then, begin to bring awareness to your environment:

   5-4-3-2-1 Grounding Technique:

   5. Look for 5 things you can see

   4. Become aware of 4 things you can touch

   3. Acknowledge 3 things you can hear

   2. Notice 2 things you can smell

   1. Become aware of 1 thing you can taste

I hope you find a tool or two here that will be helpful for you. I would suggest choosing one that feels the most tangible and starting there. Whether that is a daily habit such as a gratitude journal or meditation, or a tool for when anxiety spikes, such as the 54321 grounding technique or 4 square breathing.

Know that there are so many more tools available to you and your anxiety is certainly not hopeless. We practice a holistic approach to eating disorder recovery, and as such, supporting your anxiety is part of the work done with your care team in the Youth Intensive Virtual Recovery Program.

Please reach out if you would like to book a free discovery call. We are always happy to connect.