Managing Stress and Anxiety | Anxiety and Depression Association of America, ADAA (2024)

FAQs

What is the 333 rule for anxiety? ›

It's an easy technique to remember and use in the moment, it's available to us the majority of the time, and it can be a simple strategy to help us focus and ground when anxiety overwhelms. Put simply, you name three things you can see, three you can hear, and move three different body parts.

When your stress level exceeds your ability to cope, you need to restore the balance by reducing the stressors or increasing your ability to cope or both. Try using one of the four A's: avoid, alter, accept or adapt.

80 per cent of your anxious thoughts might be about 20 per cent of issues, so next time the anxious feeling comes up, stop and ask yourself why you're thinking about this now.

It involves identifying 5 things you can see, 4 things you can touch, 3 things you can hear, 2 things you can smell, and 1 thing you can taste. By doing so, it helps shift your focus from anxiety-provoking thoughts to the present moment.

Kobasa introduced the concept of psychological hardiness and suggested that hardiness moderates the relationship between stressful life events and illness. Kobasa characterized hardiness as comprising of three components or the 3C's: Commitment, Control, and Challenge.

More specifically we expect positive association between caring and anxiety and a negative association between the other four Cs (competence, confidence, character, and connection) and anxiety.

"My pick for the single most effective treatment for managing stress is actually quite a simple one . . . change your thinking style." From Mike Evans, Professor of Family Medicine & Public Health, University of Toronto.

What food relieves stress? ›

Break down the emotions you're experiencing and try to identify what you're telling yourself about the situation. Find an alternative to your original thought. For example, instead of jumping straight to, “This is going to be an epic failure,” try something along the lines of, “I'm genuinely trying my best.”

Some people are naturally more sensitive and reactive to stress. Differences in temperament and a collection of inborn personality traits can cause some people to be naturally more resilient in the face of stress while others can feel more threatened and less able to cope.

One way of doing this is through teaching them the 3P's (Seligman). The 3 P's stand for Pervasiveness, Permanence and Personalisation. Pervasiveness looks at how much of your life a concern impacts – How big? Permanence looks at how long an issue is going to be of concern – How long?

The Three C's for Anxiety. When it comes to coping with anxiety, the three C's - Calm Techniques, Coping Strategies, and Communication Skills - can be powerful tools in managing and reducing anxiety symptoms.

Root the body and mind with grounding techniques

Similar is the 5 5 5 rule where you breathe in deeply for 5 seconds, hold the breath for 5 seconds, and breathe out for 5 seconds. Then, identify five things you can see, five sounds you hear, and five objects around you that you can touch.