Working with the situation:
We often get stuck in one way of thinking about our problems and situations. This can lead to us repeating patterns of thinking and behaviour which might not serve us very well.
 
Try asking yourself these questions:
Avoid – is there anything about this situation I can avoid or say no to?
Alter – is there anything about this situation I can change (external changes)?
Adapt – is there anything I can change about how I feel/what I think about this situation (internal changes)?
Accept – is this something I need to accept by:

• Breathing into it
• Sitting with the discomfort and gently working to expand my tolerance to anxiety
• Sharing with someone
• Experiencing – Just being able to say, ‘I am stressed and that is my experience right now…’ can feel calming
• Moving through/moving on/letting go
• Learning from the situation

Noticing.
This works because it takes us out of the instinctual fight/flight/freeze part of our brain into the noticing/rational part. It is much more difficult to panic if we are busy noticing things around us.
 
Try the 54321 method:

• 5 things you see
• 4 you can hear
• 3 you can touch
• 2 you can smell
• 1 you can taste

Anchoring.
Sometimes, we just need to feel rooted so that we can be safe. Think of it as anchoring a tent by securely fastening guy ropes and banging tent pegs into the ground or casting an anchor from a boat to hold it steady in the winds and water.
 
You can ground yourself (as in Tip 8) and have a sentence or phrase ready to repeat to yourself to anchor you in the here and now. You can adapt any sentence which makes you feel secure. For example, ‘It’s (insert time) on (insert day) and I am (insert location). I am safe. Holding something like a stone or a small favourite ornament or picture can really help to anchor you too.

Grounding.
Making sure we are firmly in our physical bodies rather than lost in thoughts in our heads can help us to feel safe and secure.
 
Sit down and place your feet flat on the floor. Notice how the floor supports your feet and the chair supports your seat bones and back. Try to feel yourself solidly into your body. Keep your eyes open as it is easier to stay connected to what is solidly around you. You can pair this up with anchoring and noticing (see tips 9 and 10).

'All that we are is a result of what we have thought. The mind is everything. What we think, we become.' 

Buddha
            

​Muscle relaxation.
At times, we hold parts of our body tensely and this can be exhausting. We may get so used to doing this that we don’t consciously notice until we are in pain.
 
Work all around your body:

• tense a muscle tightly for 3 seconds
• hold that tension for 3 seconds
• relax that muscle, releasing all the tension in one go.

Pay particular attention to areas of tension in your body.

 
'Courage faces fear and thereby masters it. Cowardice represses fear and is thereby mastered by it.'
   
Martin Luther King Jr