The 3-3-3 Rule For Coping With Anxiety

by Vanika

The 3-3-3 Rule For Coping With Anxiety

Imagine sitting, doing your work and out of the blue you get an anxiety attack. Your palms get sweaty, your heart starts palpating, waves of dizziness hit you, you're unable to breathe evenly and you feel extremely restless. How would you cope in this situation? Anxiety attacks can often be unpredictable and at times you won't even know what triggered your anxiety. It can have a significant impact on your life. Not only is it disrupting your personal life, but it also has a major impact on your social and professional life. 

If your anxiety is hard to deal with and interferes with your daily life activities, it’s important to embrace some healthy coping strategies before the problem becomes severe or chronic. Everyone needs to be aware of one or two positive coping strategies to help themselves or someone else around them at the time of emergency.

THE 3-3-3 TECHNIQUE 

The 3-3-3 rule is one of the most helpful grounding techniques available. A lot of people find this technique effective whenever they feel overwhelmed by anxiety, stress, or panic attacks.

It’s very simple; regardless of where you are, be it at home, out with some friends or work, if you're feeling even a little bit of uneasiness, there are three things you should focus on to lower your anxiety.

1. FOCUS ON 3 THINGS IN YOUR SIGHT

Calm down and take a minute to look around yourself and bring your attention to any three objects around you and name them. If you see a painting framed in front of you; look at it, focus on its details, its components, all the colours that were used to make that painting. Make sure to repeat this two more times with some other objects present in your surroundings. This will help your mind focus on things other than the trigger.

 

2. FOCUS ON 3 THINGS THAT YOU CAN HEAR

Next up, focus on three things in your surrounding that are both audible and visible to you. Listen to three sources of sound and name them. It could be anything; the printing machine in your office, the ticking of clock on the wall or simply the birds chirping outside your window. Pay close attention to small details. Doing so would relax your overwhelming emotions.

3. FOCUS ON 3 THINGS THAT YOU CAN TOUCH OR MOVE 

And the final thing you need to focus on according to this technique is on your tactile senses. This can include moving your body parts such as stretching your legs, wiggling your toes, or any motor activity that will make you feel more anchored. This step also includes identifying physical objects around you that would make you feel more present.

The 3-3-3 Rule can be used in any situation where you feel submerged such as starting a new job, meeting new people, feeling pressured due to exams, presentations, etc. It's important to remember that the 3-3-3 only rule is a grounding technique which should be used in emergency situations. If your anxiety attacks are too frequent and recurrent make sure you seek professional help immediately. 

to know more about relocating and managing anxiety read here

 

References

https://www.healthline.com/health/333-rule-anxiety

https://thriveworks.com/help-with/anxiety/what-is-3-3-3-rule-for-anxiety/

https://www.choosingtherapy.com/333-rule-anxiety/

Tags: #AnxietyDisorder #anxious #thoughts #actions #PanicAttacks #GeneralizedAnxietyDisorder #TriggerPoints #nervousness #irritability #symptoms #overcoming #coping #anxiety #healing #MovingOn