A fundamental key to unlocking our potential is knowing that changing your relationship with fear can transform not only anxiety, but pain.

And there’s one phrase that you’re probably missing to do this.

This spooky week, there are tons of fun scaries, but also plenty of real ones (*bites nails going into next Tuesday*). Even when we’re not directly facing these situations, they can show up in our bodies and minds- maybe it’s a racing mind, difficulty falling asleep, pain flare ups, or digestive difficulties. 

You may have tried meditating, exercising more, or other coping mechanisms to feel better. 

But those tools only take care of some of the symptoms of fear, not the root cause. 

The truth is that fear makes us feel unsafe. 

When we feel unsafe (think: getting chased by a tiger, or maybe that’s the same as getting an email from your boss), our nervous system sends a cascade of responses throughout our bodies that say “we’re in survival mode”: our brains switch to fear-based responses, heart rate speeds up, pupils get wide to scan our surroundings for fear, breathing gets faster, and we de-prioritize digestion. 

Usually, when the threat passes, these responses recede like a wave on a beach. But, what if the threat remains? Or, what if the threat passes, but you’re still thinking about it? 

Your body will maintain those ramped up responses, taking a massive toll on the body and mind. This is the start of chronic anxiety and neuropathic pain. 

But, there’s one short little phrase we can wire into our brains that can completely reset our nervous system and ease the threat response: I am safe. 

Those three words cultivate an entirely different response in our bodies: our brains’ complex thinking processes can make more rational decisions, muscles relax, heart rate slows down, breathing softens, and processes to repair and restore the body are re-prioritiezed.

So how can you convince your brain that you’re safe? 

Practice. Just like learning to drive a car, hard-wiring this thought pattern feels uncomfortable at first. It takes energy and attention. But with repetition, it becomes automatic. 

Try this now: find your heart beat and take a 5 beat inhale and 5 beat exhale. You might notice your heart rate speed up on the inhale and slow down on the exhale, which is normal. Continue for about 20 breaths, mentally repeating “I am safe” on the inhale and letting that sensation spread to your body on the exhale. 

Teaching yourself to cultivate a genuine sense of safety in your body when you’re stressed is the core of breathwork and ice baths. The above exercise might seem easy when you’re not stressed, but that’s why we like to have people practice in the ice bath: the best low-stakes stressor possible. 

If you want a bit more, try this 4-8 breathing exercise that you can do anytime you need to down-regulate. This is one of the many breathing exercises and mindfulness skills we teach in our 1:1 appointments, breathwork and ice bath workshops, and courses. 

#breathwork #icebaths #fear #mentalhealth #pain #anxiety