If you’ve ever felt like there’s no way out of an anxious state, you’re not alone. Anxiety can feel all-consuming. It often comes with the body’s fight-or-flight response, as a surge of energy that can feel overwhelming, uncomfortable, and even exhausting.

The good news? You can work with your own nervous system to return to a state of calm and groundedness.

Understanding Your Nervous System

Our nervous system has two key modes:

• Sympathetic nervous system: the “fight or flight” state. This is activated when the body perceives a threat, even if that threat is stress, overwhelm, or uncertainty. You might notice a racing heart, shortness of breath, feeling restless, or even panic.
  
  
• Parasympathetic nervous system: the “rest and digest” state. Also known as the ventral vagal state, this is where we feel safe, connected, and regulated. It doesn’t mean life is perfect, it means we’re steady enough to face challenges with clarity and resilience.
  
  

When you learn to gently guide yourself from a hyper-aroused state into your ventral vagal state, anxiety and stress become much more manageable.

Six Ways to Calm Your Nervous System

1. Ground Yourself

Find a comfortable chair, place your feet firmly on the floor, and notice the connection between your body and the ground. Feel supported. Wrapping yourself in a blanket can also create a sense of warmth and safety.

2. Use Cold Water

Splashing your face with cold water or holding a cool compress to your forehead activates the vagus nerve, helping to shift the body into its calming parasympathetic mode.

3. Breathe with Intention

Breathwork is one of the most powerful tools for regulation. Try a cleansing sigh or extended exhales. For example: inhale for 3 counts, exhale for 6. Then build to inhaling for 4 counts and exhaling for 7 or 8. This signals safety to the body.

4. Play the Name Game

Use your senses to ground yourself in the present:

• 5 things you can see
  
  
• 4 things you can touch
  
  
• 3 things you can hear
  
  
• 2 things you can smell
  
  
• 1 thing you can taste
  
  

This simple exercise brings you out of your racing thoughts and back into your body.

5. Connect with a Safe Person

Spending time with someone who makes you feel safe and supported is profoundly regulating. Our nervous systems calm in the presence of love, trust, and kindness.

6. Step Into Nature

Nature has a soothing effect on the body and mind. Try walking outside, feeling grass under your feet, or simply pausing to look at trees and flowers. Even a few minutes can help regulate your system.

The Takeaway

Your nervous system is always listening, and you have the power to guide it gently back to calm. These practices aren’t about eliminating anxiety altogether, but about helping you feel safe, grounded, and capable of moving through life’s challenges with greater ease.

With practice, you can create a toolkit of rituals that restore balance and help you return to yourself.