3 Ways to Reduce Anxiety Quickly (In Under 3 Minutes)

We need to know how to reduce anxiety quickly. During a busy day at work or school, a lot of situations that are anxiety-inducing can arise -- whether conflicts with coworkers, challenging assignments, or upcoming deadlines. Unfortunately, when you're moving quickly from one task to the next, it can be difficult to address your anxiety without taking a lot of time away from your work. Because of this, I wanted to share three ways you can reduce your anxiety in under three minutes. These anxiety strategies can be used in combination with each other or individually -- the key is to choose one and use it whenever you really need to reduce anxiety quickly.

How to Reduce Anxiety Quickly

1. Meditate. One way to reduce anxiety quickly is through meditation. There are many types of meditation, and different ones may be useful in different situations. Mindfulness meditation has been shown to significantly reduce anxiety and involves bringing attention to your breath or to your body overall¹. Loving-kindness meditation can also be valuable. Although it hasn't been shown to reduce anxiety, it does increase self-compassion and self-kindness², which are important components of successful coping with a challenging day ("Meditation Helps With Anxiety and General Health"). 
2. Drink green tea. Aside from green tea's benefits to general health, it is also a valuable tool for reducing anxiety. Green tea not only reduces stress, but it also reduces systolic blood pressure and ameliorates stress-induced heart rate increases³. Making a cup of green tea in the middle of the day is quick and easy, and can be a great break to reset before diving back into work ("5 Foods to Help Calm Anxiety and Stress"). 
3. Journal reflectively. Writing about your experiences can be a great way to identify new ways to handle stressors and to reduce anxiety quickly. Reflective journaling involves writing about events you've experienced and what you learned from them. This can reduce anxiety and improve confidence, as well as being a great way to understand the challenges you face⁴. 

These three tips are great ways to reduce anxiety quickly and effectively. Incorporating one or more of these into your workday can provide a break that helps you relax and then re-engage with work. What other strategies do you use to reduce anxiety during the day?

Sources

1. Bamber, Mandy, "Mindfulness-Based Meditation to Decrease Stress and Anxiety in College Students: A Narrative Synthesis of the Research". Educational Research Review, 2016. 
2. Weibel, David, "Does Loving-Kindness Meditation Reduce Anxiety? Results from a Randomized Controlled Trial". Mindfulness, 2017. 
3. Mancini, Edelen, "Green Tea Effects on Cognition, Mood and Human Brain Function: A Systematic Review". Phytomedicine, 2017. 
4. Goodman, Joely, "Reflective Journaling to Decrease Anxiety Among Undergraduate Nursing Students in the Clinical Setting". University of Northern Colorado, 2018.