A Neuroscientist’s 3 Habits To Help Ease Everyday Anxiety

Alas, turning the volume down on anxiety is not enough. You can’t just bury these feelings and wish them away—rather, Suzuki says to dissect them. “The next step after turning down the volume is to tune in to those uncomfortable emotions that anxiety brings,” she explains. After all, breathwork and exercise (while helpful in the moment) might not be enough to completely banish your anxiety. 

Turning down the volume does make the process easier (you can’t think clearly when anxiety is too loud), but the key is to get curious about those anxious thoughts: “Learn what those emotions are telling you,” says Suzuki. “What wisdom do they have? What are they telling you about your values that maybe you didn’t recognize because you were too busy trying to just get rid of them?” She adds, “There’s a lot of value and information in those uncomfortable emotions.” 

In other words, a little mindfulness can go a long way: Getting to the root of these feelings and deciphering what they’re trying to tell you is ultimately the key to breaking free of them in the first place. “We have this beautiful cavalcade of human emotions—they’re all useful for something,” Suzuki says. “That’s another very powerful way anxiety can be good, to teach you about yourself.”