Exercises To Calm Your Anxious Thoughts
7 Simple Ways to Calm Anxiety (From a Colleyville Therapist)
Living with anxiety can feel like your brain is constantly stuck in overdrive. Whether it shows up as racing thoughts, tightness in your chest, or that “on edge” feeling that won’t go away, anxiety has a way of taking over both your mind and body.
But here’s the good news: you don’t have to stay stuck.
As a licensed counselor serving Colleyville, Southlake, Grapevine, Hurst, Euless, Bedford, Keller, and the greater DFW area, I help clients use both evidence-based therapy and practical, everyday strategies to calm anxiety. Below are seven therapist-approved tools you can start using today.
1. Try 4-7-8 Breathing
This simple breathing technique sends a signal to your nervous system: you’re safe.
How it works:
Breathe in for 4 seconds
Hold for 7 seconds
Exhale slowly for 8 seconds
Repeat for 4–8 rounds, especially during anxiety spikes or before sleep.
2. Ground Yourself with the 5-4-3-2-1 Method
This sensory awareness exercise brings your brain back into the present moment.
Look around and name:
5 things you can see
4 things you can touch
3 things you hear
2 things you smell
1 thing you taste
This is great for interrupting spiraling thoughts or panic symptoms.
3. Use Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR)
Anxiety often shows up as tension—shoulders, jaw, fists. PMR teaches your body to release it.
Try this:
Start at your feet and work your way up. Tense each muscle group for 5 seconds, then release. Notice the difference between tension and relaxation. Do this lying down or in a chair. Here is a guided youtube exercise:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86HUcX8ZtAk&ab_channel=Relaxforawhile
4. Keep a “Worry Dump” Journal
Sometimes your brain just needs a place to put all those thoughts.
Before bed or when feeling overwhelmed, write down everything on your mind without filtering. This helps your brain stop looping and can reduce nighttime anxiety. Alternatively, schedule time each day to just allow yourself to worry. This may sound strange, but research shows that if we allow ourselves scheduled time to worry we can actually decrease our overall anxiety; that is because giving ourselves time to stress over things is usually better than pushing it all down.
5. Move Your Body (Even a Little)
You don’t need to run a marathon. Just a 10-minute walk around your block in Colleyville, or stretching while listening to music, can shift anxiety by releasing endorphins and increasing oxygen flow.
6. Practice Thought Labeling
When you notice a wave of anxious thoughts, try saying to yourself:
“This is just anxiety.”
“I’m noticing the thought that ____.”
(This creates space between you and the fear, making it easier to manage instead of being consumed by it.)With the help of a therapist, utilize cognitive restructuring. More can be found on this subject here : https://www.healthline.com/health/cognitive-restructuring
7. Talk to a Therapist in Colleyville (or virtually)
While anxiety coping tools help in the moment, therapy can address the root cause of your anxiety so it doesn’t keep showing up again and again.
At Highway to Heal Counseling, I use approaches like:
EMDR Therapy – to heal anxiety rooted in past experiences
CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) – to shift anxious thinking patterns
Mindfulness & Somatic Work – to help your nervous system feel safe again
You Don’t Have to Fight Anxiety Alone
If you’ve tried coping skills but still feel stuck in cycles of overthinking, fear, or exhaustion—it might be time to reach out.
📍 We’re based in Colleyville, TX, and serve nearby cities like Southlake, Bedford, Keller, Euless, and Grapevine.
💻 Virtual sessions available across the state of Texas.
Let’s talk. Together we’ll build the tools and the inner calm that you deserve.
