What Is An Anxiety Disorder?

“Anxiety is a natural human emotion triggered by a stressful or dangerous situation. Anxiety alerts us to potential threats, so it was a handy mechanism to have back in the day when we had to escape predators. But now, anxiety tends to stem more from perceived, imagined threats than real ones. Anxiety disorder is characterized by extreme worry that is tricky to control. The pervasive feelings of worry and unease associated with anxiety disorder can impact your quality of life, relationships, and professional achievement.

Two of the most common types of anxiety disorder are:

1. Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

2. Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD)

The 3-3-3 Rule For Anxiety

The 3-3-3 Rule for Anxiety is a technique that uses emotional grounding to alleviate anxiety. Effectively, it gets you to focus on the present, steering you away from your worries. This is an excellent short exercise to incorporate into your daily routine or in moments when you are particularly stressed or anxious. The technique uses a 3-pronged approach - no shock there, given its name! Let’s take a look at the 3 steps involved.

1. See

Pick out 3 of these objects, and take a closer look. Focusing on one at a time, hone in on its individual details. If you’re focusing on a garden ornament, what is it? An animal, a sculpture? What do you think it’s made from? Is it painted?

2. Hear

The next step is to listen. You can close your eyes if this makes it easier for you to really focus on the sounds around you. What can you hear? Like with the first step, pinpoint 3 sounds that you can hear. In turn, think about each of these sounds in more detail. Is it a high pitch or a low pitch? Is the sound shrill or relaxing? What do you think is making the sounds? Can you imagine what it looks like?

3. Touch

The third step of the 3-3-3 Rule for Anxiety is to engage your sense of touch. You do this by choosing 3 parts of your body, then focusing on them one at a time. If possible, try to get a little movement in that area.

Top Tip When Using the 3-3-3 Rule for Anxiety

It’s important not to rush these 3 steps. Take your time with each object, sound, and touch sensation. Explore them fully. Ensure you are entirely immersed in the sense. Then, and only then, you’ll be able to completely distance yourself from your anxious thoughts.

Read the full article here!

Reflection: Have you ever tried the 3-3-3 Rule when feeling anxious or will you try it next time you are feeling anxious? If so, what was your experience with it?

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