Therapists Are Warning Against These 6 Common Habits That Could Be Worsening Your Anxiety

To combat these behaviors, “grounding skills can be really helpful,” Grosso said. Grounding skills can lower the heart rate and bring on a state of ease that just isn’t there during an anxiety tailspin. 

Grounding activities include going for a walk and or doing a workout, Grosso said. Additionally, Grosso said mindfulness skills can help, too. “Like becoming aware of your five senses — taste, touch, sight, smell, sound — and the reason why connecting to our five senses is grounding is because it literally gets us into the present moment,” Grosso said.

Additionally, Reynolds said she likes to encourage people to do belly breathing, “which is taking deep intentional breaths and as you’re inhaling, you’re extending your belly forward, and as you’re exhaling, you’re bringing your belly in.” This sends more oxygen to the brain and helps bring you a sense of calm, Reynolds said. 

It’s also helpful to name the anxiety-inducing behavior when it’s happening. “The way to be mindful of our thought patterns is to essentially label them when they happen. ‘Oh, there I go, catastrophizing, let me notice that,’” Grosso said.

Or, take a few moments to name the negative self-talk or reassurance-seeking that’s happening, too. “And then shift your focus onto the present moment,” Grosso said. 

Over time, you can learn how to distance yourself from these thoughts and become aware of them when they’re happening so you can remind yourself that they aren’t helpful and are, in fact, not reality, either. 

Beyond at-home tools for dealing with anxiety, it can also be helpful to seek professional help; anxiety can be more complicated than it lets on.

“Another interesting take on anxiety is that anxiety might actually be a secondary emotion and kind of covering up another emotion that you’re feeling that you deem unacceptable,” Grosso said. 

You may have been raised to think that being angry isn’t acceptable, or you may be harboring grief presenting as anxiety. In other words, there could be larger problems at play, which is where advice from a therapist can help. 

“I think psychotherapy is a really powerful experience to just better understand ourselves, understand our emotions and why we do the things we do,” Grosso said.

You can use databases like Psychology Today and Inclusive Therapists to find therapists near you.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.