9 Somatic Techniques for When You Feel Anxious & Overwhelmed
Have you ever felt like anxiety has taken over your body — your heart racing, your chest tight, or a sense of disconnection from yourself and the world around you? These moments, sometimes described as feeling “outside of yourself,” are a common human reaction to stress.
If this sounds familiar, you’re not broken — and you’re not alone.
While these practices aren’t treatments or replacements for professional care, many people find gentle somatic techniques helpful for grounding, calming the nervous system, and reconnecting with the present moment. For those who find faith meaningful, I’ll also include Scripture reflections you can use to support emotional regulation.
Why Somatic Practices Can Help You Feel Grounded
When the body detects stress, the nervous system can shift into “fight or flight” mode — a natural response designed to protect us.
But sometimes the body reacts even when there isn’t an immediate threat. When this happens, grounding practices can help bring attention back to the present moment and support a sense of steadiness.
For Christians, practices that honour the body can also be spiritual moments. Scripture describes the body as “fearfully and wonderfully made” and as a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19). Caring for your physical responses can be one way of honouring the body.
Below are nine somatic techniques that can help reconnect your mind and body during anxiety or moments of dissociation.
Evidence-Informed Somatic Techniques
1. Grounding Through the Feet
Start by placing your bare feet flat on the floor, or if you have access, put your bare feet on soft grass outdoors.
Gently press downward and notice the sensation: the pressure, the temperature, the stability beneath you.
Many people find this helps reduce that “floating” feeling that can come with anxiety or dissociation and brings attention back to the present moment.
If faith reflections help you, you might recall Psalm 40:2:
“He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.”
2. Self-Holding (Hand Over Heart + Abdomen)
Place one hand over your chest and the other over your stomach.
Let the warmth of your hands be a gentle anchor.
This type of touch can provide soothing sensory input and signal safety to the body.
Let your breath rise and fall beneath your hands.
For Christians, reflect here on God’s nearness:
“Your hand will guide me, Your right hand will hold me fast.” (Psalm 139:10)
3. Conscious Jaw Release
Many people hold tension in the jaw without realising it.
Try slowly opening and closing your mouth, or gently massaging the muscles along the jawline.
As you read this allow your jaw to drop and relax, you may even feel the rest of your facial muscles relax.
This simple movement can help release physical tension that builds up with stress.
4. Physiological Sigh (A Rapid Nervous System Reset)
The physiological sigh is a personal favourite that I have used a number of times to manage the physical feeling of anxiousness in my body.
It’s a short, simple, evidence-based breathing technique shown to quickly reduce stress and increase feelings of calm. Here’s how to do it:
Inhale deeply through your nose, filling your lungs fully.
Without exhaling, take a second, shorter inhale to further expand the lungs.
Exhale slowly and completely through your mouth.
This double inhale helps fully expand the lungs and clear out excess carbon dioxide. The long exhale activates your parasympathetic nervous system—your body’s natural “rest and digest” response—which slows your heart rate and promotes calm.
You can follow along with this guided video to help you practice.
Research indicates that even just a few minutes of practicing physiological sighs can decrease physical stress symptoms like rapid breathing or increased heart rate, help regulate emotions, and create greater steadiness during stressful moments.
5. Progressive Muscle Relaxation
Choose one muscle group — your hands, shoulders, or legs.
Gently tense the muscles for a few seconds...
and then release.
Move to another area next.
This practice builds awareness of where the body holds stress and can help release tension gradually.
6. Butterfly Tap (Bilateral Tapping)
Cross your arms over your chest so each hand rests on the opposite shoulder or upper arm.
Gently tap left… right… left… right… in a slow rhythm.
Many people find this helps reduce emotional overwhelm by providing predictable, alternating sensory input.
If it helps, you can pair this with a simple reflection such as:
“I am here… God is with me.”
If you’re out in public you can also cross your hands over your legs and do a similar movement under the table in a more subtle way.
7. Gentle Vocalisation or Singing
Another simple practice many people find grounding is gentle singing or vocalisation.
And just to be clear — this isn’t about being musical or hitting perfect notes. It’s simply about using your breath and your voice in a way that helps settle the body.
When you sing, your breathing naturally slows down, and your exhale becomes longer than your inhale. That longer out-breath is one of the most reliable ways to activate the parasympathetic nervous system — the part of the body that helps us slow down, soften tension, and feel more settled.
Singing can help stimulate pathways connected with the vagus nerve through vocal vibration and slow, controlled breathing, which may support nervous system regulation and a greater sense of calm in many people.
Research suggests that singing — whether alone or in a group — can:
reduce feelings of stress or anxiety
boost mood
increase a sense of social connection
lower cortisol
release endorphins, dopamine, and oxytocin
support emotional wellbeing
A 2013 study of choir singers found that when people sing in a structured way, their breathing naturally slows to around six breaths per minute and becomes very regular, and their hearts show a pattern called increased heart‑rate variability, which reflects stronger calming (parasympathetic/vagal) control of the heart and is linked with feeling more settled and regulated.
But you don’t need to be in a choir to benefit from vocalisation or singing. You can hum softly while doing dishes, sing in the car, or put on a favourite worship song and let your voice move naturally.
From a lived-experience perspective, many people — including myself — have found singing helpful during moments when anxiety is starting to rise.
I haven’t experienced a panic attack in many years now, but during a really difficult season of my mental health, I could notice the early signs of panic rising, prior to a panic attack. In those moments, singing a familiar melody often shifted my focus just enough that the intensity didn’t continue to build in the same way and panic often subsided. On a number of occasions, it felt like this grounding helped interrupt that escalating spiral for me.
This isn’t a treatment, and it won’t work this way for everyone — but for some people it can be a gentle, grounding practice to have in the moment.
If faith is important to you, you might choose a worship song or hymn. If not, any tune works just as well — the rhythmic breathing and vibration are often what feel steadying.
This exercise can be a simple way to reconnect with your breath, your body, and the present moment.
8. Cold Exposure (Used Carefully)
Brief cold exposure can be as simple as taking a cool shower, splashing cold water on your face, or holding an ice pack for a few moments. These are quick, accessible options when you don’t have much time.
For some people, the strong sensory input from cold stimulation can help interrupt anxious or racing thoughts, reduce the experience of being disconnected from your body and self and bring attention back to the body and the present moment. This is a grounding technique rather than a treatment, and individual experiences vary.
Research on deliberate cold exposure (cold-water immersion) is still emerging however early studies suggest possible benefits for mood, metabolism, recovery, and inflammation.
It’s also important to remember that cold exposure places additional stress on the cardiovascular and respiratory systems and may be unsafe for some people, especially those with pre-existing health conditions. Anyone considering more intense or prolonged cold exposure should approach it gradually and seek medical advice if they’re unsure.
For everyday grounding tools, simply splashing cold water on your face or taking a short cold shower can be a gentle and accessible option to bring you back to yourself safely.
9. Gentle Movement or Exercise
The last technique and highly researched for it’s impact on mood is movement.
Simple movement — such as walking, stretching, or light exercise — is one of the most consistently studied ways to support emotional wellbeing. While it isn’t a treatment on its own, research shows it can play a meaningful role in reducing anxiety symptoms for many people.
One of the most comprehensive and recent reviews in this area is a 2024 study synthesised evidence across a wide range of exercise modalities — including aerobic exercise, resistance training, HIIT, Pilates, and walking — and found consistent reductions in anxiety symptoms and psychological distress across diverse groups, such as primary care patients, people with heart disease, and older adults with cancer.
Why this review is noteworthy:
It compared multiple exercise types and found that aerobic exercise tended to be most beneficial for general anxiety symptoms.
Resistance training appeared more helpful for disorder-specific anxiety.
It highlighted potential neuroplastic benefits, including increased BDNF following HIIT, which may relate to improvements in mood, cognition, and stress resilience.
It reported benefits across a range of exercise intensities — from low to high — suggesting that movement can be tailored to individual comfort and capacity.
The review also noted that even brief bouts of activity — such as a few minutes of slow stretching or light movement — can produce small to moderate immediate improvements in mood and anxiety, likely by shifting the body away from an amplified stress response.
Bringing It All Together
Start with one or two of the above somatic techniques that feel manageable and begin practicing regularly. These are tools for awareness, grounding, and reconnection but do not psychological treatments.
Your body is not your enemy. It’s part of your story — “fearfully and wonderfully made.”
If you’ve ever wondered what it might be like to speak with a psychologist who understands Christian faith and also practises evidence-based psychology, you’re not alone. Some Australians choose to work with a psychologist who can respectfully recognise their faith context alongside their mental health concerns.
Sessions are available online across Australia, allowing you to access support wherever you are. You’re welcome to learn more about our psychologists or explore our booking page at your own pace.
References
Balban, M. Y., Neri, E., Kogon, M. M., Weed, L., Nouriani, B., Jo, B., Holl, G., Zeitzer, J. M., Spiegel, D., & Huberman, A. D. (2023). Brief structured respiration practices enhance mood and reduce physiological arousal. Cell reports. Medicine, 4(1), 100895. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xcrm.2022.100895
Vickhoff, B., Malmgren, H., Åström, R., Nyberg, G., Ekström, S.-R., Engwall, M., et al. (2013). Music structure determines heart rate variability of singers. Frontiers in Psychology. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00334
Yankouskaya, A., Williamson, R., Stacey, C., Totman, J. J., & Massey, H. (2023). Short-term head-out whole-body cold-water immersion facilitates positive affect and increases interaction between large-scale brain networks. Biology, 12(2), 211. https://doi.org/10.3390/biology12020211
Ewuzie, Z., Ezeano, C., & Aderinto, N. (2024). A review of exercise interventions for reducing anxiety symptoms: Insights and implications. Medicine, 103(41), e40084. https://doi.org/10.1097/MD.0000000000040084
Important Information
This article is intended for general educational purposes only and does not replace individual assessment, diagnosis, or treatment. If you are experiencing distress, anxiety, trauma symptoms, or burnout, consider seeking support from a qualified health professional who can assess your individual needs.
