Here are some resources to help you use your breath and your body to dial down feelings of tension, anxiety and fear. You can practise these breathing and relaxation exercises when you don’t feel too tense or anxious, so that you can use them when you feel a lot of anxiety around. You can try out the different exercises and regularly practise the ones you find the most helpful, so those become your ‘go to’ response when anxiety rises.
Breathing exercises
This audio explains how diaphragmatic, or belly breathing helps to dial down feelings of anxiety or tension, and explains how to practise it so it becomes natural for you.
Guided visualisation
This audio is a 7 minute guided visualisation. Listening to it can take you to a different place in your mind, which can help you feel more relaxed.
Progressive Muscle Relaxation guides
Here are two audio guides to Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR). This practice teaches you to notice muscles which are tense, and to relax them at will, an important skill for easing tension and anxiety. You may or may not find the practice itself relaxing, but that’s not the purpose of it, so don’t worry if you don’t.
They’re very similar, you can mix and match or just stick with the one you prefer. They’re about 15 minutes long, the first is on Soundcloud and the second on Youtube (audio only).
On a phone or tablet, it’s best to view then print the diary and instructions, then complete them manually
Useful links
Women’s health: https://www.womens-health-concern.org/