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Rapid Response Anxiety Management
Managing Intense Moments of Anxiety
While there are lots of skills that are helpful for coping with intense moments of anxiety, the one we are focusing on originates from dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT), which is a type of cognitive behavioral therapy. TIPP Skill, which stands for temperature, intense exercise, paced breathing, progressive muscle relaxation skill, is used for instances when something has happened that has overwhelmed your coping skills and caused an intense spike in anxiety. This could be anything from seeing a snake in your garage (if you’re afraid of them) or receiving really bad news. It actually can also happen from positive stressors too. TIPP Skills are not designed to fix the problem, just to get back into being able to manage things. Let’s dig into how TIPP Skills can help ease our intense anxiety.
Temperature Modification
When we experience anxiety it tends to produce heat in the body. We may feel hot or we may not even realize we are hot, but the body often produces heat. One great way to quickly modify your temperature is to stand in front of a freezer for 10 seconds or so. Another way is to run cool water over the inside of your wrist, drink cool water or even a cool shower.
Intense Exercise
One way to deal with a rapid spike in stress hormones, which results from elevated anxiety, is to complete intense exercise. This works great in kids! If you can have the child safely and quickly run laps around the outside of the house or do a set of jumping jacks it will help discharge the stress response. Don’t worry, it is effective for adults too. Even just briskly walking can help bring your stress level down.
Paced Breathing
There are a variety of paced breathing options. One example is Square Breathing, which involves breathing in for four, holding for four, breathing out for four, and then holding again for four. Check out Morgan Whitaker Smith, LMHC demonstrating this form of paced breathing. A great option for children is Starfish Breathing, which involves holding out their hand and then tracing up and down as they breathe in and out. In moments of anxiety our breath quickens and often becomes shallow. Resetting the breath it help our brain reset from the moment of extreme anxiety.
Progressive Relaxation
This involves tensing and relaxing muscles in the body in a certain order. For example, clench your toes, hold for a few seconds, then release. You would continue this for the rest of your body–tensing and releasing muscle. This allows the stress hormones to relax. This is recommended if you’re having trouble sleeping.
When to use TIPP Skills?
These TIPP Skills are most useful when anxiety has spiked. If you need additional help resolving issues or life challenges that are causing you to experience anxiety, you can contact our Appointment Line by calling 863.248.3311. If you need immediate Emotional Support or Mental Health Help, Peace River Center’s Crisis Line is available 24-hours a day by calling 863.519.3744. or texting 863.204.3443.