Anxiety Protocol; How to Stop Anxiety in its Tracks

There are two different types of anxiety as far as I’m concerned.

There’s the everyday underlying anxiety that’s just there in the back of your mind, not necessarily showing itself, but you know it’s there. And then there’s the anxiety spiral – that panic-inducing anxiety that stops you in your tracks and makes you want to curl up in a ball and just not exist. The worst part about it isn’t just the anxiety, it’s the lies it tells. It says it will never end. It says this is your new normal. It says you are broken and there’s no end in sight. It says to give up, to give in. It says you are helpless. It’s all consuming and it’s soul crushing.

But anxiety is a liar.

Over the last 20 years, I’ve developed a personal protocol for both the underlying anxiety and the panic attack spin. Everyone is different, but there are a few basic essentials when dealing with anxiety. My personal protocol works for me and it’s something I have honed and refined over the years because I’ve learned what I need. Some of these may work for you, others won’t. Trial and error is the only way you’re going to figure it out, but there are some basic things that help with anxiety.

Anxiety has to do with fears of the future and feeling out of control and overwhelmed.
The key to stopping anxiety is resetting your sympathetic nervous system. When you’re in the midst of anxiety, your sympathetic nervous system has taken over. Your sympathetic nervous system is responsible for your fight or flight response. On some level, your body believes that you’re in danger and need an extra boost of adrenaline. The key is to calm the sympathetic nervous system and activate the parasympathetic nervous system. Your body is a system of balance. The parasympathetic nervous system is responsible for rest and digestion; it’s the balance to the adrenaline. Your parasympathetic nervous system wants to be activated after you have been in fight or flight. Sometimes it just needs a little help activating. You basically need to send messages to your body that everything is okay and you are safe so it can stop protecting you. It’s just doing it’s job. There’s nothing wrong with you, your body just has mixed signals.

First, the easier one. The underlying anxiety. The one that just sits there like a booger you can’t pick or an itch you can’t scratch. It’s just there eating away at the back of your mind and it sucks. It wears away your mental fortitude and makes everyday things less enjoyable. The little things become bigger – playdates, trips to the grocery store, simply cooking a meal for your family – they can all feel insurmountable.

The first step for me is evaluation. Always. Anxiety isn’t completely useless. Often it’s a warning sign telling us something in our body is off balance. It’s a signal to take a step back, reset and reprioritize. So I do a quick body scan and ask myself a couple of questions:

Am I doing too much?
Am I not getting enough exercise to release endorphins?
Am I not getting enough sleep to cleanse my brain?
Am I drinking enough water to flush the toxins out of my system?
Is there something I’m worried about or dreading having to do?

I journal. I take a self-inventory to see where I’m at and what I can cut out. More than likely, this can be fixed with 25mg of CBD, some better sleep, some better nutrition, more water and a walk or some yoga. There are a ton of studies out there that support exercise as a way of releasing anxiety from your body. You need to be moving your body and pumping your blood in order to be flushing out the adrenalin caused by daily anxiety. Everyone experiences daily stress, but when it builds up in our system, it causes problems. I know getting out to go for a walk can seem overwhelming. It’s one more thing you “should” do. But exercise has the ability to get your system moving, work toxins out of your bloodstream and releases endorphins to help you feel better.

And now for the spiral; the panic attack that tells you life as you know it is over. Sometimes I don’t go into fight or flight. I go into freeze where I can’t move and I can’t get myself to get up and fix the problem. And that’s an even bigger problem. This one takes a little bit more, but the key is to stop it in it’s tracks as quickly as possible because the longer you’re in a state of panic like this, the easier it is for your body to go back to it. Every experience creates neuropathways in the brain. Our brain is efficient and it will take the familiar paths of least resistance, so you want to block the panic attack path as fast as possible and reset your system quickly.

The quickest way to do this is to lower your cortisol levels and one way is by creating a womb-like environment. Remember, the goal is to reset and activate your parasympathetic nervous system as quickly as possible.

My reset includes the following:

Getting off all social media and NOT looking at the news.
Turning down the lights and taking a bath with a BLISS CBD Bath Bomb. The lavender in it calms the nervous system and paired with the CBD, the warm water and the water pressure surrounding the body, it’s basically the perfect womb-like environment which is exactly what you want. You want your subconscious mind to go back to a place where you were safe and secure and everything was taken care of for you. I rest, I relax, I breathe deeply, and I usually cry. I just let it all out because backed up emotions are toxic and a good cry is therapeutic.

If crying isn’t on the agenda, I read a book that’s all about escape – usually a young adult novel that has no redeeming value other than entertainment. People with anxiety tend to like rewatching shows they have already seen. It gives them a sense of control. So if you’re not a reader, rewatch a show.
Once out of the bath, I rub RELIEF cream on my feet and give myself a little foot massage and then put on the most comfortable socks I own. There are more nerve endings per square centimeter in your feet than any other part of your body. A little foot massage goes a long way.
I put on comfortable clothes – warm, cozy clothes with no thought to fashion. Just whatever makes me feel good. Nothing with tags, nothing form fitting or itchy. It’s all about the sensory experience. Soft, soothing, warm.
My anxiety is so closely connected to my adrenal fatigue that sleep is usually what my body needs. I cuddle in bed with my dog, Sweeny, and I nap.
I cancel anything socially for the next week or two that feels like an obligation. If it’s an appointment or meeting I can move, I move it to the following week. If my husband or friend can take the kids to school, I call in reinforcements.
That night, I take a SLEEP softgel that has melatonin, CBD and CBN which all helps me get a good night’s sleep. I feel comfortable taking this even when I’m in an anxiety spin because I know it’s safe and natural and won’t make me feel groggy in the morning. I go to bed early, draw the blackout curtains and make sure there’s no light in the room. I put my phone in airplane mode, put in some ear plugs and then I just read to distract my mind until I fall asleep. Reading my Bible on my phone in dark mode will put me to sleep faster than anything else. It’s calming, I know what’s going to happen, and it helps to remind me I’m not alone. Psalms is nice for me because David had some pretty horrible things happen in his life and he has no qualms about expressing his frustration and despair. It reminds me I’m not alone in how I feel.

The next day, is equally important. Because I’ve called in reinforcements and admitted I need help, I have the ability to sleep in.

As soon as I wake up I take a BODY soft gel to make sure I’m not battling any extra inflammation and the CBD in it keeps me from going back into the anxiety spin. Because I usually have digestive issues with my anxiety, I double up on my probiotics and do my pooplesauce recipe to make sure things keep moving – but not too fast.

I check my cycle. I track my cycle in an app called “Clue” and it really helps me know where I am and if my latest bout of anxiety is hormone related – it usually is. I make sure to mark on my app that I had anxiety the previous day so it can help me predict future anxiety so I know when to be gentle with myself. This app allows me to look back and get a gauge on when I have had problems in the past, which is often reassuring. The app keeps trying to get me to upgrade to the pro version, but the free version works great for me.

If I still feel anxious, I take another 25mg CBD softgel. Even if it makes me tired, that’s fine. The point is to stop the panic spin in its tracks. It’s safe for the average person to take up to 1500 mg of CBD per day so I feel comfortable with this dosage.

Next, I do a second check-in with myself and delve deeper into what my anxiety is about. I usually journal with a cup of chamomile tea, but it can also be going for a walk, meditation, yoga or whatever my body needs. The point is, I take time to get to the source of my anxiety and address it. If I’m worried about all the things I need to get done, I make a list and prioritize it and then I move anything that isn’t absolutely essential to another list that I call my “Back Burner List.” It’s everything that can be placed on the back burner until I feel well again. My biggest priority is getting myself well and keeping myself out of the spin. The Back Burner List are things I still need to watch and remember (like buying teacher gifts or groceries or whatever needs to happen that week), but they’re not on fire nor will they cause a fire. They’re just sitting there simmering until I can get to them.

When I’m looking at my list of things to do, I check it against my priorities and paradigms. What am I doing simply because I think I’m “supposed to do it” or it’s someone I’m “supposed to be.” These are things like having a clean house or feeding my kids healthy food for the next couple of days. There’s nothing wrong with ordering pizza three days in a row if that’s what needs to happen and the house can wait. Just because it’s dirty doesn’t mean it’s going to burn down or my kids are going to need therapy. A messy house can wait. Things like getting the kids’ haircuts before the Christmas pageant may be something I want to do, but it’s not necessary – extra gel works just fine.

Don’t be afraid to take things off your plate. Telling your kids you don’t feel well and need extra help around the house is just fine. No, the kids won’t vacuum as well as you would, but it will be done and it will still feel better. Can the kids buy lunch for the week instead of packing lunches? It doesn’t matter how lacking in nutrition the school lunches may be, your kids will be fine for a week. If your kids have special dietary needs, there’s always just putting a bunch of snacks in a bag. It doesn’t need to be a Pinterest-worthy bento box. Screw the teachers who are judging you for how balanced your kid’s lunch is.

When we look at anxiety as an emotion like joy or crying, it puts it a bit more into perspective. It’s hard to think of anxiety as an emotion, but that’s just what fear is. This is your body’s response to stress or overstimulation. Your body is a wise and complex system. It’s telling you something. Digging deep and getting to the root cause so you can make adjustments in your lifestyle and your expectations of yourself can help keep you from having further anxiety.

More than anything, give yourself grace. You’re not broken and this will end. It’s physically impossible to stay in fight of flight forever so know that there is an end to this. Think back to the times you have successfully weathered other obstacles. This is no different. You’ve survived life this far which means you are strong – stronger than you believe right now and stronger that you feel at this time. You ARE a survivor.

And remember, you are not alone. Over 3 million people each year in the United States have panic attacks. It’s a function of the world we live in and the full lives we lead. And know that in the end, this will just be one more success story of something you have survived. In the end, you will be able to look back on this with greater confidence knowing you made it through this.

You’ve got this. I’ve been there countless times and I’m still here. You will be too.