A Quick Tool to Calm Anxiety—The Spiral
The Spiral is a really effective technique that I come back to again and again. I’m sharing it with you here, because, while this technique is taken from, and often used in, EMDR therapy, you don’t have to be in therapy, or even be familiar with EMDR, to use it.
When anxiety shows up, it often appears as something physical—a knot in your chest, a lump in your throat, a weight on your shoulders. This is because anxiety, much like trauma, lives in your body. Your body interprets this uncomfortable sensation as a threat, and your nervous system responds to this perceived threat almost exactly as it would a real, physical threat. This creates an uncomfortable physical sensation that can be hard to shake, even once the thoughts in our mind that initially spurred the anxiety have passed.
Here’s how to try working through this feeling with one of my favorite techniques, The Spiral, right now:
Get comfortable, and take 1-2 deep calming breaths to start. Identify something that bothers you a little to a medium amount, but not something completely overwhelming or upsetting. Let’s start with something that’s just kind of annoying.
Bring up an image that represents it for you.
As you think of the image that represents it, notice where you feel the disturbance in your body. What does the disturbance feel like? What shape can you imagine it taking? What color? Hold your awareness on that image of that disturbance in your body for a few seconds.
Now pretend that the feeling is “energy”. If it was a spiral of energy, which direction is it moving in: clockwise or counterclockwise?
Now, with your mind, gently change the direction of the spiral in your body. For instance, if it was originally moving clockwise, gently change it to counterclockwise.
Notice what happens to the feelings in your body. For many people the feelings will begin to disappear as they change the direction of the spiral, imagining the anxiety, or disturbance, “unwinding” in their body. If the feelings begin to disappear, continue until you feel have reached a comfortable level of calm, letting your nervous system settle into whatever has changed, even if the shift is small. (Hint: If one direction doesn’t work, try the other direction.)
What did you think? Let me know what you thought of this technique, or any of my other blog posts. I read every email, and would love your feedback! I can be reached at susan@susancandiloro.com