Test Anxiety
What Parents Can Do About It
Presented by
Henderson Elementary Counselors
What is Test Anxiety?
Anxiety is the feeling of agitation and distress you experience when you are faced with a
challenge such as performing on stage, competing in an athletic event or taking an
exam .
Test anxiety is the feeling of nervousness and distress you experience before or during an
exam. Students who suffer from test anxiety report difficulties with concentration, mental
blocks, and distractibility.
Fear vs. Anxiety
Fear
Anxiety
 Initiated by an outside
event
 Initiated by internal
feelings
 Response to a real danger
 Response to a perceived
threat
 Aware of the cause
 Not always aware of
the cause
 Intensity of the response
is proportional to the real
danger
 Intensity of the response
is not proportional to the
perceived threat
 Temporary & acute
 Persistent & chronic
What causes test anxiety?
 Lack of preparation!
 Past experiences of blanking out
or performing badly on exams.
 Focusing too much on the outcome.
 Focusing too much on how other classmates
and friends are doing.
 Issues outside of school distracting one from
studying for or concentrating on the test.
 Anxious parents
Personality Types That Promote Anxiety
The
Worrier
Characteristics
 Anticipates the worst
 Overestimates the odds
of bad things happening
 Creates images of failure
and catastrophe
Statements
 What if…
 I didn’t study enough?
 I don’t get enough sleep the night
before the test?
 I get sick and miss the test?
 I fail?
Personality Types That Promote Anxiety
The Critic
Characteristics
 Highly judgmental
 Ignores the positive and
focuses on the negative
 Compares self to others
Statements
 I could have done better.
 What’s wrong with me?
 I can’t ever get it right
 I could have studied more
Personality Types That Promote Anxiety
The Victim
Characteristics
 Acts helpless in many situations
 Never takes initiative
 Sets low expectations
 Promotes feelings of dependence
Statements
 I will never be able to do this.
 I can’t…
 I’ve never been good at…
Personality Types That Promote Anxiety
The Perfectionist
Characteristics
 Wants everything perfect
and under control.
 Focuses on competition.
 Views self-worth as
externally derived.
 Never quite good enough.
Statements
 I should…
 have done better
 have worked harder
 have aced that test
 always do well in school
Levels of Anxiety
Low Anxiety
 Little emphasis on test preparation
 Limited time on reviewing content
 Test results not viewed as important
Optimal Anxiety
 Appropriate amount of test preparation
 Adequate levels of content review
 Test results viewed as important
High Anxiety




Excessive emphasis on test preparation
Constant preoccupation with upcoming test
Massive amount of time spent studying
Test results viewed as extremely important
Testing Phases
Pre-Testing Phase
 From when the test is announced to when the test is taken
 Teacher has the largest role in preparing the child for the test
 The more students are and feel prepared the more confident
and less anxious they will feel
Test-in-Progress Phase
 Begins just before the test and continues through to the end of the test
 Symptoms of anxiety are most strongly felt during this phase
 If the child is too anxious they may panic and not be able to concentrate
or recall information
 Students need to utilize calming techniques
Post Testing Phase
 As soon as the student closes the test booklet the post-testing phase begins
 Lingering effects of anxiety do not end immediately, it depends on the mood
and feelings of the student when they finish the test
Physical Signs of Anxiety
 Body temperature
 Student gets very warm with sweaty palms
 Student gets cold with “clammy” hands
 Breathing
 Most extreme case is hyperventilating
 Muscular
 Body stiffness especially in neck, shoulders and
back
 Weakness in the knees
 Abdominal
 “Butterflies”
 Stomachache and/or nausea
 Senses





Headache
Feeling faint or dizzy
Blurred vision
Cardiovascular
Other physical signs
 Cardiovascular




Panic attack
Heart palpitations
Tightness in the chest
Increased blood pressure
 Other




Rashes
Increase or decrease in energy
Insomnia and/or nightmares
Phobias
Emotional Signs of Anxiety
 Mood Responses
 Dramatic & quite noticeable mood changes
 Sullen, testy, irritable
 Sometimes not aware of the change in themselves
 Emotionally Labile Responses




Very fragile and temperamental
Easy to cry or yell
“I don’t know why, but I can not stop crying.”
“Fight or flight” responses
 Feelings of Losing Control
 Feelings of panic
 Feels powerless
 “I’m falling apart!” or “I am totally losing it!”
Cognitive Signs of Anxiety
 Irrational Thinking
 Statements we say to ourselves that increase
feelings of anxiety.
 Based on mistaken
beliefs
 “Since I failed the last
test, I know I’m going
to fail this on.”
 Since I don’t like math,
I know I’m not going
to do well.”
 Lack of Concentration and Focus
 Feelings of Failure or Rejection
 Similar to Irrational thinking
 Concern with failing is tied to worrying
what others will think
 Forgetfulness
 When test anxiety is high we lose our ability
to remember
 When your mind “goes blank”
Helpful Strategies & Techniques
 Positive Messages
Pre-Testing Strategies
Positive
Negative
 How can I help you prepare for your
Reading test?
 You know Reading is not your best
subject, so hit the books!
 How do you feel about next week’s
Reading test?
 You better worry about next week’s test,
you failed the last one.
 Do you know what is covered on the
Math test? Do you feel prepared?
 You better study for the math test next
week. It’s going to be hard!
Helpful Strategies & Techniques
Pre-Testing Strategies Continued
 Effective Study Skills and Habits
 Note-taking
 Improving memory (songs, rhymes, acronyms
 Graphic Organizers
 Organizational Skills
 Practice Tests
 Time Management
Helpful Strategies & Techniques
 For Physical Symptoms
Test-in-Progress Strategies
 Deep Breathing*
 Progressive Muscle Relaxation*
 Physical Exercise
 For Emotional Symptoms
 Visualization*
• Close your eyes and imagine a calm and peaceful place
 Meditation
 Opportunities for Self-Expression
 For Cognitive Symptoms
 Positive Self-Talk *




Repeating positive messages to yourself
Pep talk with yourself
Positive conversation with your self
“Change the negative tape” your playing in your head
*denotes handout in packet
Helpful Strategies & Techniques
Post-Testing Strategies
 Goal-setting
 Analyze what went wrong and set a goal to fix it
 Example
 Test outcome: “I failed the test.”
 Reason: “I was too nervous and made too many mistakes.”
 Goal: I will learn strategies to reduce my high levels of test anxiety.”
 Comparing
 Avoid comparing – Remember results vary widely from group to group.
 Remember tests are not the only measure of success!
How We Help At School
 Teachers





Prepare
Class Discussions
Practice tests
Practice relaxation techniques
Refer students to counselors
 Counselors
 Guidance Lessons
 Small Group Counseling
 Individual Counseling
Presentation based on information found in, Test Anxiety & What You Can Do About It: A Practical Guide for Teachers, Parents, and Kids
by Joseph Casbarro, Ph.D
Adjusting for Life: Stress management Teaching Kids about Stress
Body Basics - Help your child learn to recognize and identify changes that take
place within his body when he is getting stressed. Help your child conduct a “body scan” to
locate any areas of the body affected:
Body Scan Checklist
̲ Forehead squinched up?
̲ Jaw tight?
̲ Shoulders up around the ears?
̲ Heart pounding?
̲ Butterflies in the belly?
̲ Hands shaking?
̲ Tight fists?
Breathe – Breathing is essential to helping ourselves find a place of calm. When we
are stressed, we tend to breath shallow, and our breath is focused in our chest. When we
are breathing fast it makes our whole body frustrated and difficult to do things. When
we are breathing deep and relaxed, our whole body begins to feel relaxed and calm. Teach
your child to breathe slowly in and out, blowing up his belly like a balloon.
Bubble Breathing This is a fun activity you can use to teach your child to take slow, deep breaths.
First, have your child hold the wand in front of their lips and blow really hard.
What was the result? A tiny bubble that popped immediately. Now, take a deep
breath and blow slowly and steadily into the bubble wand. What happens now? A big
bubble that hangs around for a while. Practice until you can consistently blow big,
fat, lazy bubbles.
Provided by Harrington Creative Counseling 545 E. Tennessee St Tallahassee FL 32303 (850)544‐5864 Page 1 Adjusting for Life: Stress management Be Aware - When we are stressed, our thoughts tend to become negative, which
just fuels the fire. Help your child learn to recognize thoughts like ‘I can’t stand this,’ or,
‘I can’t take this.’ Replace these “gasoline” thoughts with calming, affirming thoughts like:
9 ‘I can handle this.’
9 ‘I don’t like this, but I will get through it.’
9 ‘I’ll wait for this to pass, and I know it will.’
It may help to make a set of positive affirmation cards for your child. These visual
reminders help “reprogram” negative thought patterns.
Remember, it takes awhile to learn a new behavior. Your child will need reminders, practice
and support until these new skills take hold. Be patient. Practice the skills yourself and let
your child hear you “share out loud” as you practice them.
Provided by Harrington Creative Counseling 545 E. Tennessee St Tallahassee FL 32303 (850)544‐5864 Page 2 RESOURCES.RESULTS.RELIEF.
Healthy Thinking for Younger Children
**For older children and teens, see Realistic Thinking for Teens.
In general, anxious children think differently than other children. For example, they can easily
come up with 101 ways that things can go wrong! They also tend to see the world as more
threatening and dangerous. If a parent is late coming home, an anxious child may think “Mom
got in a car accident!” What your child says to himself or herself is called “self-talk”. Anxious
children tend to have negative or anxious self-talk. Some examples include:
“I will fail the test.”
“What if I can’t do it?”
“Things are not going to work out.”
“They don’t like me.”
“I’m stupid.”
“I’m going to get sick and die.”
“That dog is going to bite me!”
It is important for children to identify their self-talk, because anxious thoughts lead to anxious
feelings, which lead to anxious behavior. For example:
Situation = First day of school
Anxious Thoughts
Thought:
“Something bad will
happen to mom when
I’m at school!”
Feeling:
Scared
Anxious
Worry
Behavior:
Avoid School
Have a Tantrum
Cry
Feeling:
Excited
Energized
Happy
Behavior:
Go to school
Smile
Say “hi” to friends
Or alternatively,
Helpful Thoughts
Thought:
“The first day is easy,
and I will see my
friends again!”
Thus, the first step is to get your child to start paying attention to his or her self-talk, especially
anxious thoughts!
© AnxietyBC
2
HOW TO DO IT!
Step 1: Teach younger child about thoughts or “self talk”
Thoughts are the words we say to ourselves without speaking out loud (self talk).
We have many thoughts each hour of the day.
Thoughts are private – other people don’t know what we’re thinking unless we tell
them.
People can have different thoughts about the same thing.
Here is an example of how to explain thoughts:
“We all have thoughts about things. Thoughts are words we say to ourselves without saying
them out loud. Other people can’t tell what you are thinking unless you tell them. Because we
have thoughts all the time, we usually don’t pay attention to them. They just come to us
automatically! Let’s try and slow our thoughts down and pay attention to them.”
The What am I Thinking? activity can help with this explanation. You can also use picture books
or movies to teach your child about thoughts. For example, point to a picture of a character and
say, “Hmmm, I wonder what he is thinking?”
Remember, it can be difficult for young children to understand the concept of what a thought is,
and it can be especially difficult to tell the difference between a thought and a feeling. For
example, your child may say his or her thought is “I’m scared” (which is actually a feeling) versus
“That noise is a burglar trying to break in” (which is a real thought). It is important to expose the
thoughts underneath the feelings! For example, “What is making you scared? What do you think
that noise might be?”
Hint:
One way to describe the difference between a thought and a feeling to a
young child is to explain that a thought comes from your head, and a
feeling comes from your heart.
Step 2: Help your child identify thoughts (or self-talk) that lead to feelings of anxiety.
Often, we are unaware of what we are thinking, and it can take time to learn to
identify our specific thoughts.
Questions to ask, in order to help your child identify his or her “anxious” or “worried”
thoughts include:
What is making you feel scared?
What are you worried will happen?
What bad thing do you expect to happen in this situation?
For young children, this may be as far as you can progress. Just identifying their thoughts is a big
step in a long-term plan to help fight anxiety. One way to get your child to continue to pay
attention to anxious thoughts is to use an actual stop sign as a visual reminder to “stop and pay
attention”.
© AnxietyBC
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Remind your child that just because he or she thinks something, doesn’t mean it’s true! For
example, just because your child thinks the elevator will get stuck, doesn’t mean it actually will
(even though it might feel really scary).
While children can usually describe thoughts that go with feelings of anxiety, in some cases
children are unable to identify anxious thoughts, especially children who are very young or not
very talkative. At any age, anxiety may be present before there are thoughts about the situation. If
you and your child do not identify anxious thoughts, it is best not to press your child about this too
much about this. By making too many suggestions, you may create anxious thoughts where there
were none before. Instead, watch to see if your child mentions anxious thoughts in the future. The
other approaches to managing anxiety work even when anxious thoughts are not identified.
(The concepts below may be too difficult for younger children to grasp)
Step 3: Teach that what we think affects how we feel
When we expect bad things to happen we feel anxious.
What we think affects (or controls) how we feel.
For example, imagine you are out for a walk and you see a dog. If you think the dog is cute,
you’ll feel calm; however, if you think the dog will bite, you’ll feel scared. Use the Thoughts 
Feelings sheet to help explain this idea to your child.
Step 4: Changing unhelpful thoughts to helpful thoughts
First, explain the difference between a helpful thought and an unhelpful thought:
Thousands of thoughts run through our head every day. Some of these thoughts are helpful
thoughts, and some are unhelpful thoughts. A helpful thought makes us feel confident, happy,
and brave. An unhelpful thought makes us feel worried, nervous, or sad. Can you think of some
examples of helpful and unhelpful thoughts?
Once your child can identify the difference between helpful and unhelpful thoughts,
ask him or her to imagine being in a particular scenario. It is best if the scenario is a
bit uncertain. Ask: What is an unhelpful thought you could have? What is a helpful
thought? For example,
Situation
A group of kids looking
at her and laughing
Unhelpful Thoughts
Oh no, they are laughing at me.
I must look stupid!
Not being invited
to a birthday party
She doesn’t like me. I bet I am
the only one who didn’t get
invited in the whole class.
I suck. I am never going to do
well in spelling.
Getting a low grade on
a quiz
Helpful Thoughts
They are probably laughing about
something funny, and I just walked
by.
I don’t actually know that they were
laughing at me!
They probably just forgot.
Or maybe it was just a small party.
I have other good friends.
Well, I tried my hardest.
It’s only one grade!
I will practice more next time.
Once your child can come up with his or her own helpful thoughts, refer to the
Developing and Using Cognitive Coping Cards guidelines, to help your child
create, write down, and remember some of these helpful thoughts!
© AnxietyBC
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It is very useful to help a child identify unhelpful thoughts and create helpful thoughts. At the
same time, anxious thoughts and feelings are normal. It is important to communicate that you
and your child can accept anxious thoughts and feelings. They are not stupid or foolish. They
are just one way of thinking and feeling, and there are lots of other ways of thinking and feeling.
Step 5. Introduce the STOP Plan to your older child:
1. Pay attention to signs of anxiety (= S)
2. Pay attention to anxious thoughts (= T)
3. Think of other helpful thoughts (= O)
4. Praise and Plan for next time (= P)
Scared?
Sore tummy
Heart racing
Knees trembling
Thoughts?
I might throw up, and
mom won’t be here to
help me.
Other helpful Thoughts?
I can ask to go to the
bathroom and do my calm
breaths.
I can get a drink of water.
My teacher cares, he will
help me
Praise and Plan
Good job for remembering
to use the STOP Plan!
Next time, I will remember
that feeling panicky doesn’t
last forever, and drinking
water helps.
Now, use the STOP Plan Handout with your child! You will need to print several copies. First, go
through the chart together with your child. You will likely need to do this several times over a
couple of days. Once your child gets the hang of it, have your child complete it alone when faced
with a scary situation. Eventually, your child will get used to the steps in the plan, and may not
even need to write it down. Remember to praise and reward effort!
© AnxietyBC
RESOURCES.RESULTS.RELIEF.
How to Teach Your Child Calm Breathing
What is “calm breathing”?
Calm breathing is a technique that teaches your child to slow down his or her breathing when feeling
stressed or anxious.
Why is calm breathing important?
When your child is feeling anxious, his or her breathing will change. When we are anxious, we tend to
take short, quick, shallow breaths or even hyperventilate.
This type of anxious breathing can actually make the feeling of anxiety worse!
Doing calm breathing can help lower your child’s anxiety, and give him or her a sense of control
Calm breathing is a great portable tool that your child can use when feeling anxious, especially in
situations when you are not there to help him or her through it.
How To Do It
Step 1: Explaining calm breathing to your child
This is a tool your child can use anywhere, anytime! Other people will probably not even notice when your
child is using this tool. For older children and teens, explain that taking short quick breaths actually
increases other feelings of anxiety (e.g. heart racing, dizziness, or headaches). Calm breathing will slow
down his or her breathing.
Step 2: Teaching the calm breathing technique
Take a slow breath in through the nose (for about 4 seconds)
Hold your breath for 1 or 2 seconds
Exhale slowly through the mouth (over about 4 seconds)
Wait 2-3 seconds before taking another breath (5-7 seconds for teenagers)
Repeat for at least 5 to 10 breaths
Calm Breathing for Younger Children: Bubble Blowing
A fun way to teach your younger child how to do calm breathing is the “bubble blowing” technique. Using
a toy soap bubble container and wand (available at any toy store), have your child practice blowing
bubbles. The breathing required for blowing soap bubbles is the same as what is used for calm breathing.
Simply make sure your child waits a second or two before blowing another bubble. Then practice “blowing
bubbles” without a bubble wand.
© AnxietyBC
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Important Hint: Although “bubble blowing” is a great way to practice calm breathing, it is important to
remind your child that he or she is doing this to learn how to breathe calmly. In other words, do not simply
ask your child to blow bubbles without explaining this tool is used to help to manage anxiety.
Here’s a script of how to introduce bubble blowing to your young child
Talking about bubble blowing
“Today we are going to practice a new skill called calm breathing. This will be a new tool that you can use
when you feel anxious, such as when you are at school. When you use calm breathing, you take slow
breaths. A good way to practice it is to do some bubble blowing, because you have to take a slow, deep
breath to make a big bubble, and you have to blow the bubble really slowly or it will pop! So let’s practice.
Take a slow, deep breath in, hold it for a second, and then slowly blow some bubbles. Good job! Now
let’s try that again.”
For Older Children and Teens: Belly Breathing
Since calm breathing involves taking slow, controlled breaths from the diaphragm, another way to explain
this technique is to present it as “belly breathing”. The steps for this exercise are as follows:
Inhale slowly for 4 seconds through the nose.
Ask your child to pretend that he or she is blowing up a balloon in the belly, so your child’s belly
should inflate when inhaling.
Wait 2 seconds, and then slowly exhale through the mouth. Ask your child to pretend that he or
she is emptying the balloon of air, so the tummy should deflate.
Wait 2 seconds, and then repeat.
Helpful Hint: When belly breathing, make sure your child’s upper body (shoulders and chest area) is
fairly relaxed and still. Only the belly should be moving!
Step 3: Practice, practice, practice!
In order for your child to be able to use this new tool effectively, he or she first needs to be an expert at
calm breathing.
The only way to become an expert is to practice this skill daily!
Rules of practice:
Until your child is comfortable with this skill, he or she should practice it at least twice a day, doing
10 calm breaths in a row.
When you are practicing calm breathing, start when your child is relaxed, before he or she is
feeling anxious. Your child needs to be comfortable breathing this way when feeling calm!
Once your child is comfortable with this technique, he or she can start using it in situations that
cause anxiety.
© AnxietyBC
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As a final note…
If you are using cognitive coping cards with your child (see Developing and Using Cognitive
Coping Cards), calm breathing can also be used as a coping statement. For example,
“I’m feeling a little anxious right now. Maybe I should do some belly breathing!”
“I don’t need to worry if I feel scared. I can always do some bubble blowing!”
© AnxietyBC
HOW TO DO PROGRESSIVE
MUSCLE RELAXATION
Progressive Muscle Relaxation teaches you how to relax your muscles through a twostep process. First, you systematically tense particular muscle groups in your body, such
as your neck and shoulders. Next, you release the tension and notice how your muscles
feel when you relax them. This exercise will help you to lower your overall tension and
stress levels, and help you relax when you are feeling anxious. It can also help reduce
physical problems such as stomachaches and headaches, as well as improve your
sleep.
People with anxiety difficulties are often so tense throughout the day that they don’t
even recognize what being relaxed feels like. Through practice you can learn to
distinguish between the feelings of a tensed muscle and a completely relaxed muscle.
Then, you can begin to “cue” this relaxed state at the first sign of the muscle tension that
accompanies your feelings of anxiety. By tensing and releasing, you learn not only what
relaxation feels like, but also to recognize when you are starting to get tense during the
day.
HELPFUL HINTS:
Set aside about 15 minutes to complete this exercise.
Find a place where you can complete this exercise without being
disturbed.
For the first week or two, practise this exercise twice a day until you get the hang
of it. The better you become at it, the quicker the relaxation response will “kick in”
when you really need it!
You do not need to be feeling anxious when you practise this exercise. In fact, it
is better to first practice it when you are calm. That way, it will be easier to do
when feeling anxious.
Getting ready
Find a quiet, comfortable place to sit, then close your eyes and let your body go loose. A
reclining armchair is ideal. You can lie down, but this will increase your chances of
falling asleep. Although relaxing before bed can improve your sleep, the goal of this
exercise is to learn to relax while awake. Wear loose, comfortable clothing, and don’t
forget to remove your shoes. Take about five slow, deep breaths before you begin.
© AnxietyBC
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How To Do It
The Tension – Relaxation Response
STEP ONE: Tension
The first step is applying muscle tension to a specific part of the body. This step is
essentially the same regardless of which muscle group you are targeting. First, focus on
the target muscle group, for example, your left hand. Next, take a slow, deep breath and
squeeze the muscles as hard as you can for about 5 seconds. It is important to really
feel the tension in the muscles, which may even cause a bit of discomfort or shaking. In
this instance, you would be making a tight fist with your left hand.
It is easy to accidentally tense other surrounding muscles (for example, the shoulder or
arm), so try to ONLY tense the muscles you are targeting. Isolating muscle groups gets
easier with practice.
Be Careful! Take care not to hurt yourself while tensing your muscles. You
should never feel intense or shooting pain while completing this exercise.
Make the muscle tension deliberate, yet gentle. If you have problems with
pulled muscles, broken bones, or any medical issues that would hinder
physical activity, consult your doctor first.
STEP TWO: Relaxing the Tense Muscles
This step involves quickly relaxing the tensed muscles. After about 5 seconds, let all the
tightness flow out of the tensed muscles. Exhale as you do this step. You should feel
the muscles become loose and limp, as the tension flows out. It is important to very
deliberately focus on and notice the difference between the tension and
relaxation. This is the most important part of the whole exercise.
Note: It can take time to learn to relax the body and notice
the difference between tension and relaxation. At first, it
can feel uncomfortable to be focusing on your body, but
this can become quite enjoyable over time.
Remain in this relaxed state for about 15 seconds, and then move on to the next muscle
group. Repeat the tension-relaxation steps. After completing all of the muscle groups,
take some time to enjoy the deep state of relaxation.
© AnxietyBC
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The Different Muscle Groups
During this exercise, you will be working with almost all the major muscle groups in your
body. To make it easier to remember, start with your feet and systematically move up (or
if you prefer, you can do it in the reverse order, from your forehead down to your feet).
For example:
Foot (curl your toes downward)
Lower leg and foot (tighten your calf muscle by pulling toes towards you)
Entire leg (squeeze thigh muscles while doing above)
(Repeat on other side of body)
Hand (clench your fist)
Entire right arm (tighten your biceps by drawing your forearm up towards your
shoulder and “make a muscle”, while clenching fist)
(Repeat on other side of body)
Buttocks (tighten by pulling your buttocks together)
Stomach (suck your stomach in)
Chest (tighten by taking a deep breath)
Neck and shoulders (raise your shoulders up to touch your ears)
Mouth (open your mouth wide enough to stretch the hinges of your jaw)
Eyes (clench your eyelids tightly shut)
Forehead (raise your eyebrows as far as you can)
It can be helpful to listen to someone guide you through these steps. There are many
relaxation CDs for sale that will take you through a progressive muscle relaxation (or
something very similar). Alternatively, you can record a script of this process on a tape
or CD, or ask a friend or relative with a calm, soothing voice to record it for you. It would
sound something like this:
Take a deep breath in through your nose…hold your breath for a few seconds…and
now breathe out…take another deep breath through your nose… Now pay attention to
your body and how it feels…. Start with your right foot… squeeze all the muscles in
your right foot. Curl your toes as tight as you can, now hold it….hold it…good…now
relax and exhale…let your foot go limp…notice the difference between the tension and
relaxation….feel the tension flow out of your foot like water…(then repeat with right
lower leg and foot, entire right leg, etc…)
© AnxietyBC
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Quick Tense & Relax!
Once you have become familiar with the “tension and relaxation” technique, and have
been practicing it for a couple weeks, you can begin to practise a very short version of
progressive muscle relaxation. In this approach, you learn how to tense larger groups of
muscles, which takes even less time. These muscle groups are:
1. Lower limbs (feet and legs)
2. Stomach and chest
3. Arms, shoulders, and neck
4. Face
So instead of working with just one specific muscle group at a time (e.g., your stomach),
you can focus on the complete group (your stomach AND chest). You can start by
focusing on your breathing during the tension and relaxation. When doing this
shortened version, it can be helpful to say a certain word or phrase to yourself as you
slowly exhale (such as “relax”, “let go”, “stay calm”, “peace” “it will pass” etc…). This
word or phrase will become associated with a relaxed state; eventually, saying this word
alone can bring on a calm feeling. This can be handy during times when it would be
hard to take the time to go through all the steps of progressive muscle relaxation.
Release Only
A good way to even further shorten the time you take to relax your muscles is to become
familiar with the “release only” technique. One of the benefits of tensing and releasing
muscles is that you learn to recognize what tense muscles feel like and what relaxed
muscles feel like.
Once you feel comfortable with the tension and relaxation techniques, you can start
doing “release only”, which involves removing the “tension” part of the exercise.
For example, instead of tensing your stomach and chest before relaxing them, try just
relaxing the muscles. At first, the feeling of relaxation might feel less intense then when
you tensed the muscles beforehand, but with practice, the release-only technique can
be just as relaxing.
Final Note: Remember to practise progressive muscle relaxation often,
whether you are feeling anxious or not. This will make the exercise even
more effective when you really do need to relax! Though it may feel a bit
tedious at first, ultimately you will gain a skill that will probably become a
very important part of managing your anxiety in your daily life.
© AnxietyBC
4
Mental Vacation: Relaxing Beach Find a quiet comfortable place to sit or lie down. Close your eyes. Take a few slow, smooth breaths. With each breath, breathe IN relaxation and breathe OUT any worries or stress. Let go of all the tension in your body. Allow yourself to slow down. Feel the pace of your heart and lungs becoming slower. Feel your body sinking more and more deeply into relaxation. Give yourself this time. Everything else can wait. Allow yourself to quiet and enjoy the feeling of letting go. Now imagine that you are on a long sandy beach by a sapphire-­‐coloured ocean. The sky is blue and wide. The waves are gently breaking on the shore. Slowly the waves retreat back out to sea, only to be replaced by other waves working their way up the beach, and then slowly retreating back out to sea again. With each sound of the waves coming in and going out you find yourself feeling more and more relaxed and at peace. Far off in the distance, you can hear the faint sound of seagulls. You watch them glide through the sky, gracefully swoop down into the sea, and then fly off once again. Puffy white clouds very slowly drift across the sky. The sun feels so warm and comforting on your skin. You take a moment to enjoy the warmth on your face. You close your eyes and take a slow, deep breath… You can smell the salt from the sea. Feel the warm air coming in and out of your body. You feel your body begin to get very heavy. It feels almost as though you are sinking into the warmth of the sand. You feel at ease and content. For a few moments more, let yourself enjoy the sights and sounds of this beautiful day on the beach. The gently breaking of the waves, the smell and taste of the sea, the cries of the gulls in the distance, the warmth of the sun on your body. All of these sights, sounds, and smells leave you feeling very calm and relaxed. Mental Vacation: Relaxing Beach 1 Let yourself continue to drift. Be aware of how deeply relaxed your mind and body feel right now. Remind yourself that you can create these feelings on your own, at any time. Now, take a moment to scan through your body. Discover any tension you are holding. Then, inhale relaxation into that area and exhale the tension. Come back to this peaceful beach in your mind as often as you like or create your own place. Let this peaceful place recharge your mind and body. Stay here as long as you like. And when you are ready, you can gently bring your attention back to the room, returning to the present moment. Mental Vacation: Relaxing Beach 2