5 Important Rituals To Beat Anxiety
Various rituals for beating anxiety can act as effective, daily pain relievers. They are behavioral and cognitive “shields” that can control our clouds of anxiety with very simple actions.
By using them, we can establish order, structure, mental peace and security in our lives. They reduce feelings of anguish and panic, as well as the inexplicable pressures that sometimes take a firm grip on us. Many people have some distrust of these rituals; perhaps because the word “ritual” traditionally has superstitious connotations. They are often based on spells that will give us wealth, love or health.
But we often forget the true meaning of the term: a ritual is an act performed repeatedly for symbolic reasons. They also have stable and well-defined structures.
The simple act of including something repetitive in our routine is beneficial to the brain. It is something that leads to order and a sense of control in life. We must not forget that anxiety is fueled by uncertainty. It arises from nowhere, is unpredictable and takes away control of you in life.
Therefore, the following cognitive and behavioral rituals can offer us a very positive, compensatory mechanism that is worth considering.
Let’s dig a little deeper into the subject.
In the 1920s , the well-known anthropologist Bronislaw Malinowski studied the lives of the inhabitants of the Trobriand Islands in the Pacific Ocean. There was something there that caught his attention. When men fished in the river, they did not do so in the same way as in the sea.
Before going out to sea, they performed a series of very complex rituals. However, they did not do this when they went to the rivers of the islands. The sea was dangerous and unpredictable. The rituals calmed this fear and gave them a sense of security, something symbolic that told them that “everything will be fine”.
Malinowski’s interesting study was published in the journal “Current Biology”. It showed the great psychological effect that these rituals could have on the fear they experienced on a daily basis. They helped them keep their anxiety under control and helped them deal with things they could not control.
These rituals for beating anxiety are useful and have always existed in the history of mankind. This is a fact we can not deny. These ritualized movements, performed for the purpose of creating a sense of order and security in the brain, are not in themselves a solution to our problems.
They offer a sense of control, restore inner balance and regulate emotions. But they are not a universal cure for anxiety disorders, which of course requires a more clinical method.
Let’s take a look at some examples.
Deep breathing has become one of the most common ways to beat anxiety. For it to really have an effect, we must establish certain “key moments”, where we hang on to it for at least three minutes.
The best thing is that you can engage in deep breathing as soon as we wake up, when we leave home, when we start work, before each meal and before going to bed. We will also be able to identify specific activities that often cause stress and anxiety.
Movement rituals can be used to shake off worries that plague our minds. They activate our bodies and remove the resistances of the knots caused by tension. There is nothing better than turning to physical activities that we enjoy.
Once we have done that, we should exercise them every day. We can take a run, perform high-intensity training for five minutes or practice yoga at times when we feel the need the most.
Other rituals also work well to beat anxiety, including self-care. Once a day for 1-2 hours we should give ourselves some quality time. We can prepare meals we like, be quiet without doing anything, read, walk, etc. Spending time alone is very healing.
We have all heard about how soothing it is to paint mandalas or other styles. We choose certain colors and let ourselves be swept away by this creative and relaxing activity. But here we will go a little further.
What we are going to do is choose a series of stones of suitable size to be able to paint and draw on them. Each stone will symbolize a worry, a fear. When we paint something colorful and creative on stones, it is like removing the negativity of anxiety. It is a simple exercise, but soothing at the same time.
A positive anchoring ritual can be very useful. It consists of two very specific phases. In the first, we must organize an experience that is both positive and comforting. For example, a walk on the beach, a meeting with friends, a weekend trip.
When we are in the middle of this experience, we must become fully aware of the positive emotions we experience. The goal is to keep this feeling in the brain, as if it were a perfume.
Next , we will select an object from the environment. For example, a little sand or a rock if we are on the beach, a leaf if we are in the countryside, etc. Then we will “impregnate” this object with the emotions. The object will be our daily talisman.
We can carry it in our pocket or bag when we experience a stressful situation, regardless of whether it is a test, an interview, a doctor’s visit, etc.
In conclusion , the most important rituals for beating anxiety are those that are important to us. We must create them based on our beliefs and personal characteristics. The goal will always be the same: to give us confidence, peace and a sense of security in a world full of constant uncertainty.
