Feeling Restless, Anxious, or Discombobulated? Here’s How to Find Relief

Do you have days where you feel restless, unsure, anxious, or disconnected? Where your heart or spirit is in chaos? Do you ever have moments when you wander around the house, too anxious, confused, or stressed to know what to do with yourself? In those moments, do you wish you knew how to calm your restless soul and whirling thoughts?

I have moments like this. Here are some examples:

• Someone does or says something that blindsides me and throws me into turmoil.
• I’m consumed with anxiety over a loved one’s struggle.
• I’m facing am intimidating project and I’m too nervous to start.
• There’s so much to do that I don’t know where to start.
• I just discovered I’ve made a big mistake and I’m stuck in monkey-mind, rehashing the situation.

Sound familiar? If so, this post will help you find ways to calm your restless soul and still the chaos in your mind.

The list that follows includes simple actions that can help you calm your emotions, lower your stress, and clear your mind. These are not magic cure-alls. They are small, simple actions you can take that will help to ground you, so you can move beyond the turmoil and back to functioning more calmly and sanely.

21 Simple Tricks to Calm Your Restless Soul

This list begins with simple, quick actions and moves to others that take a bit more time or effort. No matter where you, one or more of these will help.

1. Focus on your breath – Close your eyes and focus on the act of breathing. Take a slow, deep breath, and notice the sensation as the air come in, fills your lungs, and is then exhaled. Continue to focus on breathing for at least a minute.
2. Practice 4-7-8 breathing – Similar to the one above, but now you’re focusing on the duration of each breath. Inhale through your nose for a count of four. Hold your breath for a count of seven. Finally exhale through your mouth for a count of eight. Repeat at least four times, or more, until you begin to feel calmer.
3. Brush your teeth – Do it slowly and take note of all five senses. How do the bristles feel as they rub your teeth? What sound does it make? How does the toothpaste taste? Etc.
4. Notice your feet – You can try this sitting or standing. Focus your whole awareness on the bottom of your feet. Notice the sensations. Flex your feet and feel what happens. Remain focused for 30-60 seconds.
5. Recite a poem – Dredge a positive snippet from memory and recite it out loud. A poem, a Bible passage, song lyrics. Whatever you can think of. Perhaps you can select an appropriate piece and memorize it so you can recite it whenever you feel stressed.
6. Hot or cold – Place your hands in hot water or hold an ice cube. Pay attention to the sensations. How do they change as the ice begins to melt or the water starts to cool?
7. Savor a Flavor – Is there a scent that helps you regain calm? Or maybe a favorite warm beverage? Take a few moments to fully savor it with your complete attention.
8. Pray – Tell God what’s on your mind. Don’t worry about form or saying the right things. Simply start talking about your anxieties and fears, or tell him about what you’re feeling. Ask for his help, guidance, comfort, etc.
9. Be a careful observer – Choose a simple category, such as a color, and notice everything you can see around you that fits that category. List them to yourself mentally as you notice them.
10. Do a simple chore – Many people find a simple, repetitive task helps them to calm down and clarify thinking. Fold laundry, wash dishes, polish metal or leather, sweep the sidewalk. Try to be as mindful as possible, focusing wholly on the task and letting the turmoil fade away.
11. Go barefoot – If you can, spend a few minutes outside, walking barefoot. Pay attention to the feeling of grass, sidewalk, or other surfaces as you walk on them. If walking isn’t an option, sit and pay attention to what you feel with your bare feet as you flex them and run them along the surface.
12. Color – Adult coloring books are popular for a reason. Coloring is an effective way to de-stress and re-center. And it’s fun, too!
13. Get lost in music – We often listen to music while we’re doing other tasks, but this is different. Forget multitasking. Find a comfortable position and listen to the music with your whole being (loud is probably best). Allow the music to guide your body into movement, anything from nodding to humming to dancing.
14. Journal – When your thoughts are in chaos, dumping everything onto a journal can help. Simply write down whatever is bothering you. Ignore grammar, spelling, and logic. Just get all those spinning thoughts on paper. (Or dictate them into a phone app or voice recorder.)
15. Commune with a pet – Snuggle up to your pet and spend a few minutes chilling with them. Stroke their fur, tell them your woes, or just sit quietly and focus on togetherness.
16. Take a cold shower – This can really wake up your nerve endings and refresh you. If this is too much of a shock to your body, begin with a warm shower and then reduce the temperature for a final 30 seconds of refreshing chilly water.
17. Take a mindful walk – Take a short walk (preferably outside) and pay attention to your senses. What do you hear? Smell? See? How do your feet feel as you walk? Do you feel a breeze on your face, or hot sun making you sweat? Notice the good as well as the broken in all you pass by.
18. Meditate – More and more people are touting the benefits of meditation to de-stress and better focus their thoughts. Have you tried it?
19. Exercise – Working up a good sweat is good for both body and soul. When I feel all jangly and tense (like I’ve drunk too much caffeine even when I haven’t), a brisk walk often calms those physical sensations and helps me focus.
20. Make something – Pull out a favorite hobby and focus on something you love to do. Knit, paint, bake a cake. The joy of creating helps you find your equilibrium.
21. Do something for someone else – Serving others is an effective way to cope with troubles, reconnect with others, and feel better about yourself.

The next time you feel anxious or discombobulated about life, I hope these tricks will help you calm your restless soul and restore your equilibrium. Better yet, add a few of these into your normal routines to help you maintain balance and shed stress every day.

Have you heard the good news about my novel, Death and a Crocodile? It won two awards in August. It was a finalist in the 2021 American Fiction Awards, historical mystery category and it won the 2021 Golden Scroll Novel of the Year!