The snow globe effect: How to manage anxiety

Human beings are naturally designed to be well. Our default state is not one of anxiety, depression, or overwhelm. At our core, we are calm, present, and balanced.

Imagine your mind as a snow globe, with your thoughts represented by the glitter inside. When the snow globe is at rest, the water is crystal clear, symbolising a peaceful, calm you. There’s no need to do anything to make it clear – it’s inherently clear all on its own.

However, when we become agitated, anxious, or worried, it’s like shaking the snow globe. Suddenly, the glitter swirls chaotically, and our thoughts become overwhelming. The sheer amount of glitter makes it hard to see clearly, leaving us feeling stressed, overworked, and lost in our anxiety.

The solution is beautifully simple: let the snow globe settle. Just as the glitter will naturally sink when the globe is left alone, your thoughts will settle when you allow your mind some stillness. This is the path back to clarity, back to calm.

Taking time to pause and meditate helps us return to our natural state – a calm, clear mind.

The more we allow our thoughts to settle, the more clarity we bring to our experiences.

When you’re calm, you reconnect with the best version of yourself – the version unclouded by chaos or distraction. This is where your fullest potential resides, waiting for you to embrace it.

Remember: The best you can be is the calm, clear you.

Steps you can take to manage anxiety

Meditation

Meditation is like a workout for your mind. I think of it as building my mind muscle. Just exercising my mind for five to 10 minutes per day has a massive effect. The ability to train myself to clear my mind of past or future thoughts, and just think of what is now, helps me think before I react.

It’s best to start in small increments of time, even five or 10 minutes, and grow from there and you will soon be feeling the benefits.

You can meditate at any time and build your mind's muscle. So, if you get stuck in a queue at a bank or in a traffic jam, or you simply have a spare five minutes – meditate!

Below are just a few examples of how you can be mindful in every situation you find yourself in. By doing this, you start to control how you react to the things that happen to you. I’ve tried all of these and they work.

• Drinking tea or coffee: Smell and examine your tea or coffee before taking a slow sip. Close your eyes and wholly feel and taste the liquid on your tongue before swallowing. Feel the warmth of the cup in your hands.
• Taking a shower: Think about what the water feels like as it hits your skin.
• Scanning your body: Take a moment to close your eyes and tune into your body. Start at your toes and move up, observing each body part until you reach the top of your head. Be curious about what you find, noticing any tension, lightness, heat, pain or other sensations. Notice if the mind wanders and creates stories about those feelings. If so, see if you can bring the mind back to the sensations without judging them.
• Sunrise or sunset: Take in the unique colours and try to notice something you’ve never spotted before. Is there a cloud shape that reminds you of something or someone? What colours do you see? How does the air temperature change once the sun dips below the horizon?

Self-hypnosis 

As well as meditation, self-hypnosis is a great tool to use to access deep relaxation, reframe negative thoughts, and build resilience, promoting calm and anxiety management. Try this yourself (this is my process; it works for me)…

1. Identify the issue

• Clearly define the issue you want to address - habit, behaviour, or emotional state you want to improve. Be specific: Break down the problem into a simple, clear goal.
  • Example: Instead of “I want less stress,” reframe it as, “I want to feel calm and composed in stressful situations.

• Use positive language: Focus on what you want to achieve rather than what you want to avoid.
  • Example: Instead of “I don’t want to feel anxious,” reframe it as, “I want to feel confident and relaxed.”

2. Prepare a quiet space

• Find a quiet, comfortable place where you won’t be disturbed. You may want to sit or lie down in a relaxed position.
• Create a calming environment: Dim lights, play soft background music if desired - make sure you are comfortable.
• Relax your body: Take slow, deep breaths. With each exhale, consciously release tension from different parts of your body, starting from your feet and moving upward to your head.

3. Entering the trance

Once you're relaxed, you’ll need to focus your mind to enter a trance state, which is a deeply relaxed, focused state of awareness.

• Focus on your breathing: Close your eyes and concentrate on the rhythm of your breathing. Let each breath guide you deeper into relaxation.
• Visualise a relaxing scene: Picture yourself in a calming place, such as walking down a staircase or floating on a cloud. This visualisation helps quiet your mind.
• Use a countdown: A common way to deepen the trance is to count down from 10 to 1. With each number, tell yourself you're becoming more relaxed and more deeply hypnotised.
  • Example: “10, I am relaxing more and more… 9, I am feeling calm…”

4. Suggestion phase: What to say to yourself

Once in the trance, this is when you communicate with your subconscious mind to address the issue.

• Use positive affirmations: Speak to your subconscious with positive, present-tense affirmations that focus on the outcome you desire. Make your statements clear and concise.
  • Example: “I am calm and in control in all situations.”
  • Example for habit change: “I naturally choose healthy foods.”
• Repeat the suggestion: Say your affirmation multiple times to reinforce the message in your mind.
• Visualise success: Imagine yourself in a scenario where the issue no longer exists, and you're responding in the way you want. Feel the emotions of success, whether it’s confidence, peace, or joy.

5. Exiting the trance

Once you have finished giving suggestions to your subconscious mind, it’s important to bring yourself back to normal awareness gradually.

• Count up slowly: Start from 1 and count up to 5, telling yourself that with each number, you are becoming more awake and alert.
  • Example: “1, I am slowly coming back… 2, feeling more awake… 5, open your eyes and come back to now.”
• Stretch or move: As you open your eyes, gently stretch or move your body to shake off the trance.

6. Testing the outcome

After the self-hypnosis session, it’s important to observe if there is any change in your behaviour or mindset.

• Test in real life: If your goal was to remain calm in stressful situations, notice how you feel the next time stress arises.
• Be patient: Self-hypnosis often takes repeated practice. Change may happen gradually over several sessions.
• Reassess the goal: If necessary, fine-tune your affirmations for your next session.

Working with a professional

Working with a hypnotherapy professional can be a transformative addition to your anxiety management toolkit. While practices like meditation and mindfulness help train your mind to settle, a hypnotherapist guides you deeper into a state of calm, where your unconscious mind can address the root causes of your anxiety.

Through tailored techniques, they can help you reframe anxious thought patterns, reduce triggers, and build a stronger sense of resilience. Hypnotherapy is not about relinquishing control; rather, it empowers you to regain it by accessing your inner calm more easily.

Imagine your snow globe settling faster, the glitter of your thoughts gently sinking into place. With consistent practice and professional support, you can experience greater clarity, peace, and confidence in navigating life’s uncertainties. The path to a calmer mind is not just possible – it’s within your reach.

Further reading

• Hypnotherapy for anxiety
• What is self-hypnosis?