Anxiety is Like a Dimmer Switch

I’m Jason Smith, a hypnotist serving Radcliff and Elizabethtown, Kentucky. I help people move past anxiety, fear, and overwhelm.

Fear and anxiety feel alike in the body. They work in different ways. Mistake one for the other, and you reach for the wrong tool to clear it. Once you see the difference, you gain a way to turn anxiety down. This post walks you through both, then gives you a breathing exercise to try right now.

Fear works like a light switch

When I was six, I jumped over a bush and a bee stung me on the knee. That one sting left me afraid of stinging insects for decades.

Fear flips on the moment a threat shows up. A bee buzzes near you and the switch goes on. The bee flies away and the switch goes off. This taught me fear lives in the present, responding to what is in front of you.

Anxiety works like a dimmer switch

Anxiety behaves differently. It rises and falls by degrees, and it ties itself to a future event.

Picture a vacation you book months ahead. You feel fine while you plan it. And as the trip draws closer, anxiety begins to rise. When you drive to the airport, it grows even stronger. Standing in the TSA line, your heart begins to race, your neck gets hot, and you feel it rising even higher. You step onto the jetway and it hits its peak. The plane lands safely, and the dial drops back down.

Nothing threatened you on the jetway. Your mind turned the dial in anticipation. The good news: if your mind turns it up, your body holds a way to turn it down.

Step 1: Find your number

Let’s try this together. Read each step, then do it.

1. Sit somewhere comfortable. Close your eyes and take a deep breath.
2. Bring to mind an event coming up soon. A speech. A presentation at church. A flight.
3. Rate how anxious it makes you on a scale from 1 to 10.
4. Now push the number all the way to 10 on purpose. Notice what your body does. Your chest might tighten. Your hands might curl into fists. Your shoulders might pull inward.

You turned the dial up yourself. Hold on to what you noticed. Next, you turn it down.

Step 2: The 4-6-8 breath

This breath gives your nervous system a signal to settle.

1. Breathe in for a count of 4.
2. Breathe out for a count of 6.
3. Repeat the cycle 8 times.

The longer exhale does the work. Try one cycle now. In for 4. Out for 6. Notice your shoulders drop a little. Notice your fingers loosen. Check your number again. Most people feel it slide down after one round.

Keep your hand on the dial

You finished one round. Do 7 more on your own to complete the set of 8.

Practice this before you need it. Use it in the days leading up to a big event, and again in the moment. The more you rehearse, the faster your body responds.

Remember the difference: fear flips on and off, and anxiety slides up and down. And the secret is: you control the dimmer more than you think.

If anxiety runs your days and you want help turning it down for good, reach out. I work with clients in Radcliff and Elizabethtown.

Think you might be experiencing anxiety?