How To Actually Calm Down (Part 3) - Relieve Anxiety With Ease

Welcome back to the final chapter in our series on How To Actually Calm Down!

What we’ve already learned

In Part One we discussed:

  • the biology of stress
  • the four stress responses
  • what nervous system dysregulation is

In Part Two, we discussed:

  • why being calm is a skill
  • how trauma relates to anxiety
  • why overcoming anxiety is possible

Now it’s time to discover why learning to calm down matters, and how to relieve anxiety with ease.

Let’s begin!

Relieving anxiety with ease

If you struggle with emotional dysregulation, it can be hard to calm down.

Many solutions offered for anxiety require conscious effort.

Suggestions like journaling or mindfulness meditation may be fruitless when you’re already panicking. Especially if you’re neurodivergent or have PTSD.

One of our favourite ways to relieve anxiety is with meditones.

Because meditones® make you calm without you having to do a thing. They help you produce calm brain waves, effortlessly.

Just listen with headphones and the meditones effect occurs naturally and easily.

What are meditones?

Meditones are binaural beats mixed with beautiful ambient music.

When two slightly different frequencies of sound combine, they create a humming vibration.

And when you listen to this vibration in headphones? It creates a remarkable auditory perception called binaural beats.

Normally sound is processed in the part of the brain called the auditory cortex. But, binaural beats use the whole brain.

The left and right hemispheres of the brain work in unison to create calm brain waves. Like the ones you produce during deep relaxation and restful sleep.

Illustration of a person wearing headphones listening to Theta meditones at 4 Hz

This makes meditones the perfect antidote to stress, anxiety and overwhelm.

By creating calm brain waves with meditones, you naturally soothe your nervous system and feel calm. Without having to do a thing.

When you use meditones, you expose your brain to calm, focused states of consciousness.

But they don’t just work in the moment. They also have positive long-term effects.

The long-term benefits of meditones

There’s a saying in neuroscience “Neurons that fire together, wire together”.

Imagine your brain as a large field of tall grass. There are a few different pathways across the field.

Some are well worn paths. Others are slightly overgrown. And there are large patches of thick, impenetrable grass.

The easiest solution to cross the field is to choose the well worn path.

Dirt path through a grassy field overlooking the ocean with a park bench in the middle

The same is true for your brain. It loves efficiency.

So it’s much easier for the brain to choose a pathway that is thick and strong.

Just like the well worn path through a field of tall grass, your neural pathways become thicker through repetition.

And the more you form calm neural pathways? The more your brain naturally chooses calm responses instead.

Which means, the more you use meditones, the stronger those neural pathways become. Making it easier to become and stay calm.

Other calming activities

A stack of orange books, a cup of tea and a few candles rest on a board over a cream coloured bathtub

Whilst meditones are an easy solution to calm, they are just one tool. Ideally, you need a whole toolbox.

Anything that will help you soothe your nervous system and slow down will help you become calm. These practices are the bedrock of restful self care.

And just like the field of grass analogy above, the more you can experience calm - the easier it is to stay calm more often.

You could try:

  • Diaphragmatic or belly breathing
  • A weighted blanket
  • A warm shower or Epsom Salt bath
  • Yoga or gentle stretching
  • Placing your legs up the wall
  • A nice cup of tea
  • Listening to calming music
  • Hugging a loved one
  • Patting a pet
  • Forest bathing or a walk in nature
  • Feldenkrais
  • EMDR Therapy

If you are struggling with feelings of anxiety or overwhelm, it’s important to reach out. You may need the support of a therapist or medication.

There’s no shame in receiving extra support to help your nervous system become calm.

Why calming down matters

There’s one more important thing to remember about healing anxiety, stress and overwhelm.

Calm isn’t just a lovely feeling. And out of all the scientific benefits of calm, there’s one that stands out.

More than restful sleep. More than better memory. More than clarity, focus or high performance. And even more than better relationships.

Resilience.

Becoming resilient is the biggest key to making lasting changes in your life.

If you want to live a deep and meaningful life, you need to be resilient. And becoming resilient requires calm.

Emily Read Daniel writes

Resilience is about the nervous system: the body’s stress response and its ability to remain in a healthy range of arousal and settling without getting stuck in an over or under-activated state.”

So the greatest result of learning to calm down? Is being resilient enough to do the things that matter to you.

Calm down effortlessly with the Restful app. Download for free on Google Play or the App Store today!