How to manage anxiety naturally

The way we each live our lives can be very different. Some of us rise with the sun, go for a morning run, and dive into the day with focus and energy. Others may find themselves caught in a constant battle with overwhelm, procrastination, and racing thoughts. Despite all of our differences, there’s one thing we all have in common: we are ruled by our emotions.

One of the most dominant and misunderstood emotions we experience daily is anxiety. It shows up in our chests, in our breathing, in our thoughts, and in the way we navigate our lives. Everyone feels scared or anxious at times; it’s a normal part of being human, and part of our evolutionary makeup. But while fear can be helpful, anxiety often is not.

Are fear and anxiety the same thing?

Many people think fear and anxiety are the same, but there are subtle (yet important) differences between them.

Fear is a primitive survival emotion. It helps keep us safe. Think of it as your brain’s natural alarm system. It activates when you face real, immediate danger. For example: “Oh look – a lion! Last week, a lion ate my mate – quick, let’s run!”

Anxiety, on the other hand, is a response to potential or imagined threats. It evolved to help us prepare for danger, not necessarily react to it in the moment. It’s future-focused and helps us plan or anticipate risk. But when uncertainty enters the picture, anxiety can spiral out of control.

When the brain has no clear past scenario to refer to – no lion that ate someone – it starts running imaginary simulations: “What if the lion is there again? What if it’s hiding? What if I can’t escape this time?” And on and on.

This is where anxiety becomes unhelpful. It creates an endless loop of worry and fear, searching for a solution that may not exist. If this loop continues unchecked, it can lead to panic attacks and panic disorder, where you begin to panic about panicking. You become trapped in a feedforward cycle that can feel impossible to escape. 

What happens to your brain when it’s anxious?

When you feel anxious, a specific neurological process unfolds. The prefrontal cortex, the part of your brain responsible for logic, decision-making, and rational thinking, goes temporarily offline. This is your brain's way of trying to allocate all its resources to identifying and escaping the perceived threat.

At the same time, your amygdala – your brain’s emotional control centre – goes into overdrive. It floods your body with stress hormones. Your heart races, your breathing quickens, and your thoughts spiral.

This is why it’s so difficult to calm down when you’re anxious; your thinking brain isn’t fully online. You can’t reason your way out of it. Instead, you need to reset the nervous system, bring your brain back to safety, and reconnect your body and mind.

How can you break the anxiety habit?

To break the anxiety cycle and bring your prefrontal cortex back online, you need to calm down, but not in the way most people mean.

If anyone has ever told you to relax when you’re anxious, you know how infuriating and unhelpful that advice is. That’s because true calmness doesn’t come from thinking – it comes from feeling.

You need to bring awareness back to your body, grounding yourself in the present moment through direct experience. By getting out of your head and into your body, you allow the mind to reset naturally.

This is where practical tools and techniques come in. Tools that help you connect with your senses, regulate your breath, and physically feel safe again.

Hypnotherapy and anxiety

One powerful and often overlooked method of anxiety relief is hypnotherapy. Hypnotherapy provides a deep level of relaxation, helping the nervous system reset and allowing the brain to re-engage its calm, rational state.

A typical hypnotherapy session allows you to vividly imagine a situation that triggers your anxiety, like public speaking or travelling, and experience it while in a deeply relaxed state. This process helps retrain the brain and reduce the emotional charge associated with the trigger.

One client I recently worked with came to me suffering from severe panic attacks on buses. He was tearful, overwhelmed, and completely unable to travel without experiencing intense fear.

After just one session, he was able to take the bus home comfortably. After a few more sessions, bus rides became… boring! He now travels to work without even thinking about it, and others have noticed how much calmer and more centred he seems in general.

Practical exercises to manage anxiety at home

According to JMIR mHealth and uHealth, practising calmness for just ten minutes a day can reduce anxiety symptoms by up to 57%. That’s a huge return on a small daily commitment.

So, what can you do? Here are three simple, science-backed techniques you can use today to break the cycle of anxiety.

1. Five-finger breathing technique

When you’re anxious, your heart races and your breathing becomes shallow. This means less oxygen reaches your brain, reinforcing the panic response.

Five-finger breathing is a tactile, visual, and mindful exercise that helps regulate your breath and signal to your brain that you’re safe.

How to do it:

• Hold out one hand.
• Using the index finger of the other hand, slowly trace up and down each finger.
• Inhale as you trace up, exhale as you trace down.
• Do this across all five fingers.

This technique helps you engage your senses, calm your nervous system, and re-centre in the present moment. 

2. The power of touch

Touch is the first sense we develop in the womb. It’s primal, intuitive, and incredibly healing.

Pleasant touch stimulates the release of serotonin, lowers cortisol (the stress hormone), and reduces heart rate and blood pressure. It also helps us reconnect with our bodies, reducing the disconnection that anxiety creates.

Try this:

• Hug yourself.
• Stroke your arms or legs gently.
• Rub moisturiser into your hands or feet slowly and mindfully.
• Stroke a pet or hold a soft blanket.

Touch doesn’t require another person. Just a few intentional seconds of self-touch throughout the day can significantly reduce anxiety levels.

3. Take your pulse

This method combines touch and breath to ground you in direct experience.

Here’s how:

• Place your fingers lightly on your wrist or neck and feel your pulse.
• Observe it without judgment – just be present with it.
• Breathe deeply and stay with the rhythm for 60 seconds.

This simple act reminds your brain, “I’m here. I’m OK. My body is working.” It reconnects you to yourself, physically and emotionally, and breaks the loop of helplessness that anxiety can create.

Managing anxiety isn’t about eliminating it. It’s about learning how to interrupt the cycle, reconnect your mind and body, and become skilled at practising calmness in everyday moments.

You don’t need to sit in silence for an hour or meditate on a mountain. You just need to commit to small, consistent practices that rewire your nervous system over time.

So, next time you feel the wave of anxiety rising, pause. Breathe. Touch. Feel. Ground. And when you're finished, ask yourself:

“What do I feel like now?”

This simple question helps you recognise the power of the practice and the shift that has occurred within you.