5 Somatic Strategies to Manage Anxiety

(That Don’t Involve Overthinking It)

Anxiety doesn’t always announce itself clearly. One moment you’re fine, the next you're pacing, snacking, picking up your phone—or completely shut down. You might not even realize you're anxious until you're halfway into an old coping habit.

That’s because anxiety often moves faster than thought. It speaks in sensations, urges, and reflexes—not words.

Somatic strategies help you slow the moment down, meet your body where it’s at, and gently guide it toward safety—without forcing yourself to “calm down.”

Let’s explore five practices that invite you back into connection.

1. Notice What You’re Doing: Pattern Awareness Comes First

Before you can regulate, you have to recognize.

Anxiety often runs on autopilot, triggering familiar responses:

• I feel anxious → I open the fridge

• I feel anxious → I reach for my phone

• I feel anxious → I shut down completely

Instead of judging the behavior, get curious:

• What’s happening in my body right now?

• Is this action trying to soothe me—or distract me?

Simply pausing to notice the pattern brings choice back online. And that pause is a somatic intervention.

Try this: When you catch a familiar urge, place one hand on your heart or belly. Take one slow breath. Say internally: This is me trying to feel safe. No fixing—just witnessing.

2. Orient to Your Environment: Let Your Eyes Find Safety

When anxiety floods your system, your brain might know you're safe—but your body doesn’t.

Orienting helps reset that internal alarm. It’s a gentle practice of letting your eyes explore your environment until something signals “I’m okay.”

Try this:

• Look slowly around the room.

• Let your gaze land on one neutral or pleasant thing.

• Notice colors, textures, light. Pause. Breathe.

This tells your nervous system: You’re not back there. You’re here now.

Bonus: Try naming out loud 3 things you see, 3 sounds you hear, and 3 sensations you feel. It brings your system back to the present moment.

3. Ground Into Sensation, Not Explanation

When anxiety takes over, you might try to talk yourself out of it—“It’s not a big deal,” “I shouldn’t feel this way.” But your body isn’t looking for logic. It’s looking for anchor points.

Somatic grounding is about tuning in to what’s real, tactile, and happening now in your body.

Try:

• Pressing your feet into the floor

• Holding a textured object

• Feeling the weight of your body in a chair

Ask:

• Where do I feel contact?

• What’s one sensation I can focus on?

Reminder: Sensation is safer than story. You don’t have to explain why you’re anxious—just feel something real, and stay with it.

4. Co-Regulate: Let Your Nervous System Borrow Safety

Your nervous system wasn’t built to self-regulate all the time. It co-regulates—meaning it softens in the presence of another safe, attuned being.

This could be:

• A friend who listens without rushing you

• A therapist or practitioner who holds grounded space

• A pet who curls up beside you

Even making eye contact with someone kind or hearing a soothing voice can help shift your physiology.

If you’re alone: Try putting on a voice note or guided meditation with a calm, warm tone. Your system will still pick up those cues of safety.

5. Move What’s Stuck: Let Your Body Finish the Story

Anxiety is often a signal that energy is trapped. Your body wanted to fight, run, or freeze—and didn’t get to. Movement gives it an outlet.

You don’t have to go for a run. Start small:

• Shake your hands for 30 seconds

• Gently bounce your knees while seated

• Sway side to side with music

This isn’t to “get rid” of anxiety—it’s to complete what was left unfinished.

Bonus tip: Try sighing while you move. A long exhale tells your nervous system: It’s safe to let go.

Final Thoughts: You’re Not Broken—You’re Responding

Anxiety isn’t a failure. It’s a form of patterned protection—your body doing its best with what it learned.

Somatic strategies won’t make anxiety vanish overnight. But they will help you build trust with your body. They teach you how to notice, name, and nurture your internal experience—without judgment.

And over time, that’s what creates regulation: Not perfection. Not numbness. But choice, presence, and a growing sense of “I can be with this.”

Your body isn’t against you. It’s trying to come home.

 And you don’t have to walk that path alone.