Small ways to help your body settle when anxiety, stress or overwhelm take over.
Sometimes, when we’re feeling anxious or overwhelmed, we try to think our way out of it.
We tell ourselves there’s nothing to worry about, try to rationalise our feelings, or remind ourselves that everything is fine. And sometimes, that helps.
But other times, our head knows we’re okay, while our body hasn’t quite caught up.
Maybe your heart is racing, your shoulders are up around your ears, your stomach feels icky, or you can’t seem to sit still. Maybe you feel restless, on edge, disconnected or completely flat.
This is where working with the body can be helpful.
Why start with the body?
When we experience anxiety or stress, our nervous system responds. Our breathing might change, our muscles might tense, our heart rate might increase, and we might feel an urge to fight, flee, freeze or do something to get rid of the uncomfortable feeling.
These responses aren’t a sign that something is wrong with us. They’re part of how our bodies respond to perceived stress or threat.
Sometimes, understanding why we’re anxious is important. Other times, it can help to give our bodies a different experience, rather than trying to convince ourselves to feel differently.
This is where somatic exercises or bottom-up regulation comes in.
Somatic exercises or bottom-up strategies are body-focused approaches that work with physical sensations, movement, breathing and our senses to support nervous system regulation. Rather than starting with our thoughts and trying to change how we feel, we start with what’s happening in the body.
For example, we might slow our breathing, feel our feet against the floor, gently move our muscles or orient ourselves to the room around us.
These strategies can help us feel more grounded and present, and may reduce the intensity of anxiety or overwhelm. They won’t always make uncomfortable feelings disappear, and that’s not the goal. We’re simply creating a little more space to be with what we’re experiencing.
There’s no single exercise that works for everyone. The idea is to experiment and discover what feels helpful for you.
Your regulation menu
Think of this as a menu, not a to-do list. You don’t need to try everything, and you don’t need to do these exercises perfectly. Choose what feels manageable for the kind of day you’re having.
1. Short: 1–5 minutes
Small moments to help you reconnect with the present.
These are options for when you’re between tasks, sitting at your desk, feeling anxious before an appointment, or noticing that your body is starting to feel overwhelmed.
Feel your feet on the floor
Place both feet on the ground and gently press them into the floor. Notice the sensation of your feet making contact with the surface beneath you. You might notice the pressure, the temperature or how your weight is distributed.
There’s nothing you need to change. Just spend a few moments noticing the support underneath you.
Look around the room
Slowly look around and notice what’s in your environment. Find a few colours, shapes or objects that catch your attention. Notice the light coming through the window or the sounds around you.
Allow your eyes to move at a comfortable pace. This can be a way of bringing your attention back to the present, particularly when anxiety has you caught up in thoughts about what might happen next.
Tense and release
Gently squeeze your hands into fists, lift your shoulders or press your feet into the floor for a few seconds. Then release the effort and notice what changes.
You might notice warmth, a shift in tension or very little at all. There’s no right response.
Try a slower exhale
If it feels comfortable, breathe in gently and allow your exhale to be a little longer than your inhale. Try this for a few breaths without forcing the air out or taking unusually deep breaths.
If focusing on your breathing makes you feel more anxious, dizzy or uncomfortable, stop and try something else.
Use your senses
Hold a warm mug, run your hands under warm water, notice the texture of your clothing or listen to the sounds around you.
Choose one sensation and spend a little time with it. You don’t need to close your eyes or sit perfectly still.
2. Medium: 10–30 minutes
Giving your body a little more time and space.
Sometimes a minute or two is helpful, but we might need something more substantial when we’ve been running on stress all day. These options can help us shift gears, reconnect with ourselves or give our attention a break.
Go for a mindful walk
Take a walk without needing to get anywhere in particular. Notice the rhythm of your steps, the air on your skin, the sounds around you or the movement of your body.
You don’t have to clear your mind. When you notice yourself caught up in thoughts, you can gently bring your attention back to what’s around you.
Move your body
Try some gentle stretching, swaying to music, rolling your shoulders or moving in whatever way feels good. You might prefer a walk, a swim, a few yoga poses or putting on a song and dancing around the living room.
Movement can help when anxiety leaves you feeling restless or full of nervous energy. It doesn’t need to be intense or structured to be worthwhile.
Have a sensory reset
Think about what your senses have been taking in throughout the day.
Have you been surrounded by noise, bright lights, conversations, screens or constant demands? Perhaps what would help is a quieter room, softer lighting, comfortable clothes or a little time away from your phone.
Alternatively, you might find that music, a weighted blanket or a warm shower feels comforting. Notice what your body seems to respond to.
Try a repetitive activity
Colouring, knitting, gardening, cooking, doodling or doing a simple puzzle can give your hands something to do while your mind gets a break from problem-solving.
This isn’t about being productive or creating something impressive. It’s about allowing yourself to do something without needing to achieve anything.
Make space for connection
Sometimes regulation happens in the presence of another person.
You might call someone you feel comfortable with, sit beside a partner, cuddle a pet or spend time with a friend who lets you be yourself.
You don’t necessarily need to talk about what’s bothering you. Sometimes, simply being around someone with whom you can relax can help you feel less alone with what you’re experiencing.
3. Restorative: 30 minutes or longer
Making room for rest, recovery and reconnection.
These options are for when you have more time and capacity to slow down. They’re not just for moments of anxiety. They can also be ways of caring for yourself before you’ve reached the point of feeling completely depleted.
Spend time in nature
Visit the beach, walk through a park, sit in the garden or find a patch of sunlight to enjoy.
Notice the colours, the sounds, the breeze or the feeling of the ground beneath you. There’s no need to turn it into a mindfulness exercise if you’d rather simply enjoy being outside.
Create a slower evening ritual
Have a warm shower, make a cup of tea, change into comfortable clothes and put on some music. Reduce the number of things competing for your attention and give yourself permission to move through the evening a little more slowly.
Small rituals can become familiar cues that help us transition from the demands of the day into a different pace.
Do something creative
Paint, bake, write, play music, work with your hands or spend time on a hobby you enjoy.
Let it be about the experience rather than the outcome. You don’t need to be good at it, finish it or share it with anyone.
Give yourself permission to rest
Lie down, have a nap, read a book or spend some time doing very little.
If slowing down feels uncomfortable, you don’t need to force yourself to lie still for an hour. You could start with five minutes of rest, or choose something gently engaging instead.
Rest doesn’t have to be earned by reaching exhaustion first.
Spend time with people you can be yourself around
Make space for relationships where you don’t feel you have to perform, keep everyone happy or hold everything together.
This might mean a quiet dinner with a friend, a walk with your partner or time with someone who can listen without immediately trying to fix things.
Feeling connected, understood and accepted can be an important part of feeling more settled.
A few things to remember
You don’t need to be calm all the time.
Feeling anxious, angry, sad, excited or overwhelmed is part of being human. Nervous system regulation isn’t about eliminating emotions or making ourselves feel pleasant all the time. It’s about supporting ourselves through different emotional experiences.
Not every strategy will work for every person.
You might find slow breathing helpful but dislike meditation. You might feel calmer after movement but more uncomfortable when sitting still. That’s useful information, not a sign you’re doing something wrong.
Pay attention to what your body is telling you.
If an exercise makes you feel more distressed, disconnected, dizzy or uncomfortable, stop and try something else. You can keep your eyes open, move around, or focus on the environment rather than internal sensations. Some body-focused exercises can feel difficult, particularly when we’re already overwhelmed.
Regulation isn’t a replacement for understanding.
These strategies can help us manage the intensity of anxiety in the moment, but they don’t necessarily address what’s causing it. Sometimes anxiety is connected to current stress. Sometimes it’s connected to our relationships, past experiences, expectations or feelings we’ve struggled to make sense of.
Learning to regulate our bodies can create a little more room to explore those things, rather than feeling completely consumed by them.
Where to start
Rather than trying to change everything at once, choose one short, one medium and one restorative activity that you’re curious about.
Try them at different times and notice how you respond.
You might ask yourself:
What was happening in my body before I tried this?
Did anything shift, even slightly?
Did this feel comforting, neutral or uncomfortable?
Would I want to try it again?
You don’t need to feel dramatically different for an exercise to be worthwhile. Sometimes the change is subtle. Sometimes nothing much happens at all.
The point isn’t to find the perfect technique that makes every difficult feeling go away. It’s to build a better understanding of what helps you feel more present, supported and able to navigate what’s happening inside.
And remember, we don’t have to fix every feeling the moment it arrives. Sometimes we can help our bodies settle a little, become curious about what we’re feeling, and give ourselves the space to understand it.
Xoxo Jen
Psych Jen | psychjen.com
This resource is for general information and self-care. It isn’t a substitute for individual psychological support. If an exercise feels distressing or isn’t helping, it’s okay to stop and discuss other options with your treating health professional.