4 Techniques To Recalibrate Your Nervous System, From A Clinical Psychologist 

Anxiety can hit during unexpected times, and you're not always in a setting that calls for a half-hour meditation or even a few moments by yourself. So what can you do when that wave of nervous energy suddenly arises? 

According to licensed clinical psychologist Jennifer Taitz, Psy.D., ABPP, author of Stress Resets: How To Soothe Your Body and Mind in Minutes, the answer is a simple acronym: TIPP. 

OK, it's not like you can easily procure a bowl of ice water in a public setting, but if you are in the comfort of your own home, a quick dunk can be quite helpful. 

"Set a timer for 30 seconds, submerge your face in a salad bowl full of ice water—it doesn't need to be too cold—and hold your breath for 30 seconds," Taitz explains. "When a human body is submerged, specifically their nose, underwater, it activates the mammalian dive response that lowers your heart rate [and] redirects blood flow from nonessential to essential organs." 

Essentially: The cold can calm you down. Not to mention, it's pretty difficult to remember your negative thoughts while submerging your face in ice; it takes your focus off the anxiety by making you feel physically uncomfortable.

Similar to facial icing, a bout of intense exercise takes your mind off the anxiety by offering something physical to focus on. And you don't have to necessarily hit the weight rack or go for a mile-long run: "Just 90 seconds of burpees, squat jumps, or something that feels comfortable to you but brings up your heart rate," Taitz explains. 

As the name suggests, progressive muscle relaxation entails tensing and relaxing each of the muscles in your body. This technique also gives you something physical to focus on instead of the anxiety (are you sensing a theme here?). 

"For example, tense your forehead and release, then notice the difference between tension and relaxation in your forehead," says Taitz. "Tense your lips by pursing them together, then release so there's some comfortable space between your upper and lower teeth, and continue throughout your body." 

Don't ignore the power of a good sigh, says Taitz. "Doing something as simple as taking a deep inhale, then taking a subsequent inhale (so you're taking two back-to-back inhalations), then taking a long, extended exhale releases a lot of carbon dioxide and can reset your breathing pattern."

In fact, research has shown1 that just five minutes of cyclic sighing (the two back-to-back inhales with a long, steady exhale) was associated with less anxiety and improved positive emotions. 

"You don't want to overdo this because you don't want to be sighing all day long. That can replicate feelings of hyperventilating. But if you're stressed out, if you're in traffic, if you're about to go into a difficult meeting, [cyclic sighing] releases a lot of the carbon dioxide that we associate with anxiety," Taitz adds.