Want to prevent anxiety? Start by understanding anxiety isn’t a character flaw—it’s your brain’s interpretation of signals. More specifically, anxiety lets you know that something might be wrong, you may be physically or emotionally in danger. It’s your brain’s bodyguard working overtime.
From a trauma lens, anxiety shows up when your nervous system predicts threat, not just when danger is actually present.
Think of it as a well-intentioned alarm system that needs recalibration, not removal.
Preventing anxiety, then, is about shaping the conditions that teach your bodyguard when they can take a break. To avoid misinterpreting neutral or even beneficial signals as warning or danger as anxiety often does. happen, you must believe “I’m safe enough right now,” or “I can handle it.” Therapy can help with this, of course.
Preventing anxiety: tools to consider
1) Start with a compassionate frame
Begin by naming silently to yourself what’s happening when you sense anxiety coming on to prevent it from escalating: “This is my protective system, not a personal failure. I am safe enough. I can handle this.”
Reframing a moment of anxiety as a helpful signal starts the compassionate gaze toward your-Self. Adding in positive beliefs about your ability to navigate this moment keeps your prefrontal cortex (the planning, perspective-taking part) online and lowers shame, which is gasoline for anxiety.
If you have trouble with self-compassion, check out Dr. Kristin Neff’s work. Self-compassion is not self-indulgence. It’s treating our-selves the way we would treat a dear friend. Sending signals of loving kindness to our-self can lower our stress immediately.
2) Scanning for signals of welcome, safety
Once you reframe the story of anxiety as a signal and let your system know you believe you can handle it, look for evidence to support that belief to prevent anxiety from taking over.
Look for things in your environment that help you believe “I am safe.”
Perhaps you pet your dog, or gaze at a picture of your kids laughing at the beach. Maybe you tune into smells: the lavender aromatherapy you are diffusing helps you feel calmer. For others, sound helps. Shift your focus to your water feature on your desk that has a gentle, rhythmic sound of water, or turn on a playlist that helps you destress.
Because anxiety is typically about some future moment, it tends to ask, ‘what if’? What if that report isn’t good enough, what if someone finds out ____, what if I can’t lose the weight, what if I don’t make enough money, what if my child doesn’t get into college, what if I am not saving enough money? Future worrying.
Bringing yourself into the here and now prevents anxiety’s signals and brings you back to what really “is” right now. It doesn’t mean you never plan for the future. It means you don’t allow your brain to highjack you into worrying about the future. Planning and worrying are not the same thing.
3) Breathe for balance: longer exhale, slower pace, through the nose (mostly)
Your breath is a remote control for your vagus nerve. To prevent anxiety from overtaking you, extend your exhale longer than your inhale.
Perhaps start with “4,7,8 breath,” inhaling four a count of four, holding for a count of seven, then exhaling loudly through pursed lips for a slow count of eight.
Research shows that doing this practice five minutes a time three times a day helps resent your nervous system toward balance.
Outside of this particular breath practice, consider breathing through the nose solely. Not through the mouth. Check out James Nestor’s book, “Breath: the New Science of a Lost Art,” for a deep dive into why this type of pranayama is healthiest for people overall and specifically to prevent anxiety.
Keep it gentle—no big gulps of air. You’re not trying to “fill up,” you’re sending a quiet memo to your alarm system.
If you notice you are heightened and need a quick reset, try the “Physiological Sigh,” to quickly lower your stress level. This is an intervention tool, though, not a prevention tool. It can prevent the anxiety from becoming worse, though, in the moment.
4) Move your body—intentionally and consistently
Motion metabolizes stress chemicals and prevents anxiety. Brisk walking, cycling, dancing in your kitchen, tai chi, gentle yoga movements—anything that moves your body rhythmically—can lower baseline anxiety.
To maximize prevention, take on resistance training a few days a week. Lifting heavy, or using heavy resistance bands, builds “stress capacity,” so your system doesn’t overreact to minor threats. Caution: the recommendations for resistance training vary wildly and many of the suggestions come from studies on men.
For women, please read through Dr. Stacy Sim’s suggestions for resistance training. After all as Sim’s states, “Women are not Small Men,” and as such we need to train differently.
Sprinkle “exercise snacks” into your day. Meaning, short, small movements meant to interrupt the sitting. The current thinking is “Sitting is the new Smoking,” meaning lack of movement is physically and mentally harmful for us.
Aim to get up and move every thirty minutes to an hour. Don’t wait until the end of an 8-hour day of sitting thinking, “but I exercise after work!” That won’t make up for the hours of sitting.
Try preventing anxiety with these exercise snacks: 3–5 minutes of stair-climbing, marching in place, high knees, pushups, burpees, mountain climbers, or shaking out your limbs. What creative ideas can you think of for these snacks? I juggle or twirl two batons at once. Fun and helpful!
A recent study showed that doing 10 deep squats every 30-60 minutes throughout your day helps decrease glucose spikes and keeps insulin steady. That translates to less overall stress, and potentially prevention of anxiety.
Your body learns, “We complete stress cycles here.” It’s not about punishing workouts; it’s about rhythmic, repeatable movement that your nervous system can trust.
5) Sleep is the way to prevent anxiety with your eyes closed
One of the most powerful anxiety-prevention habits is consistent sleep. Aim for regular bed and wake times (yes, even weekends). Get morning light within an hour of waking; it anchors your circadian rhythm, steadies cortisol, and smooths anxiety later.
Protect the last few hours before bed: finish all food three hours (optimally) before bed, dim overhead lights, and use ambient light instead. Avoid intense problem-solving or gaming that will activate your mind and brain. Finally, avoid screens. I know: that one is likely the hardest. So perhaps for screens you stop 90-minutes before bed. Three hours is optimal, but 90 might be sufficient.
The key is to learn about “sleep hygiene” and then find out what works best for you. Perhaps a calming routine that includes a warm, magnesium salt bath, yoga nidra, or a guided imagery for relaxation.
If you wake in the middle of the night, do not pick up that phone!!!!!
Instead, keep lights off, practice 4,7,8 breath or another calming practice such as yoga nidra or guided imagery to interrupt your tendency to think about problems.
Focus instead on your breath and even recite a phrase such as, “I am so grateful I can sleep,” or “I love how cozy my bed feels,” phrases of soothing and safety.
Fun thing I do: When I was little, we would have snow days. I would lie in bed so tired, hoping to hear my school’s name called for being closed. When it was, I was so excited to go back to sleep! I just recall that relief and sense of falling back to sleep. The memory of that works for me. Maybe it will for you (if you grew up with snow like me!)
6) Feed your brain to quiet your alarm
Stable blood sugar equals a steadier mood. As such, food is medicine. Metabolic dysfunction is killing us and research is pointing to our foods as the culprit. But it can also be leveraged to help prevent anxiety.
Start the day with protein and fiber (eggs and berries, Greek yogurt with seeds, tofu scramble with veggies). Pair caffeine with food, not on an empty stomach. Hydrate steadily and add electrolytes to water to enhance the effectiveness of the hydration.
At this point I don’t think I need to say it, but I will: avoid all alcohol. No amount of alcohol is healthy. None. Despite what so many of my clients tell me, “But red wine is good for you!” No. It. Is. Not.
You would have to drink inordinate amounts of red wine to really get the benefits of resveratrol from the grapes; and, in those amounts, the other elements of the red wine would really be unhealthy.
Yes: some people are able to drink in moderation because they are SO UBER HEALTHY in all other areas: they do all the right things, so the alcohol doesn’t have as much impact. But don’t fool yourself: alcohol is a toxin.
While the food pyramid has been left behind, there are healthy guidelines for nutrition to consider such as focusing on quality protein throughout the day, healthy fats, and fiber as the bulk of your food, while avoiding starches, seed oils, and ultra processed foods.
Carbs are not the devil.
We need carbs in general. Specifically, healthy complex carbs not simple carbs, and in moderation. While Keto and other low carb diets are popular, they are not recommend for the general population. It’s important you do your research! Don’t get caught up in the latest fad on social media!
If you don’t know what ultra-processed foods means, or why they are harmful, I have just the book for you: Good Energy, by Dr. Casey Means. A must read. I find this to be a good ground-zero book for most people to update and reprogram their thinking around food. To let go of some of the lies or misinformation we’ve been told in the past. And, to learn the truth about what is in our food and how processed food is making us anxious, overweight, and just sick.
If evenings are a worry zone consider magnesium-rich foods (pumpkin seeds, leafy greens), and avoid sugary desserts. Choose berries instead if you want something sweet. I used to be addicted to dessert after dinner. For decades. I’ve managed to break that habit, but boy was it hard! I’m here for you with that one!
7) Activate the vagus nerve with simple sensory cues
Your vagus nerve responds to cues of safety and can prevent anxiety from spiking. But how to engage it? Hum while you work, gargle after tooth-brushing, sing in the car, or splash cool water on your face for a few seconds to activate the vagus nerve’s calming capacity.
Gentle neck and jaw release (yawn, slow head turns, a soft jaw stretch) can dial down sympathetic charge. Try “orienting”: let your eyes slowly scan the room, noticing colors, light, and three objects you like. When your eyes signal “nothing is hunting me, I am safe” your brain’s bodyguard stands down a notch.
Check out my tools page for more options and video examples!
8) Protect your calendar like it’s your nervous system (because it is)
Overcommitment is socially rewarded and physiologically expensive. To prevent anxiety, build a capacity budget: decide ahead of time how many “high-output” blocks you can do in a day, and defend that number.
Create buffer zones between demanding tasks. If saying no is hard, use a “pause phrase”: “Let me check my capacity and get back to you.”
Practice one in, one out—when you add a new commitment, remove or defer something else. Those of us who grew up without all this technology might remember feeling less stressed without it. Technology isn’t the issue: it’s the way we are using it that has felled us.
Put. Your. Phone. Down.
And, say no. Protect your down time.
This is prevention, not selfishness.
Saying yes when you mean no is not a sign that you are a helpful or generous person. It is a sign that you don’t care for yourself. That you learned that you only mattered when you are doing things for others. A trauma belief. So many of my female clients lament taking time for themselves to meditate, go for a walk, or use any of these tools I offer.
They say, “But I feel guilty. I should be with my kids” or “I should be doing something productive.”
When are we going to realize that we are better parents, partners, siblings, employees when we offer ourselves care?
Think about all those to be expected low-road moments you have with your kids when you aren’t at your best: perhaps if you took some time off to care for yourself those might happen less. My goal is not avoiding all conflict or challenges (no such thing),but preventing anxiety. Caring for your-self gives you more capacity to handle life’s stressors. Everyone wins.
9) Co-regulation: let safe people help your nervous system settle
Humans can be a source of calm for each other. Schedule regular time with people who feel regulating, not draining, to prevent anxiety.
Read that again.
It’s not any social contact that is healing; it’s healthy social contact.
Check this out: who are the people in your life that tend to help you feel more fulfilled and regulated when you are with them? Which people tend to suck all the oxygen from the room? Have you ever paused to consider this? You can, you know. This is your life: who lifts you up and who brings you down?
The key is tuning in: is this interaction feeling soothing? Then, this person might be a source of comfort for you. Next step is to check in with your-self: am I allowing myself to be soothed? This might sound weird.
My clients are clamoring for relief from anxiety, but they unintentionally block soothing opportunities. Meaning, they hold tight to their anxiety and don’t seem to “allow” the soothing in.
This comes in varied forms such as saying they are “too busy” to have that coffee with a friend who might help or they don’t want to burden others with their problems. But most often I notice clients talking to five friends about ‘what happened,’ and not feeling any relief.
Notice if this is you: when you are anxious how many people do you tell your story to? Perhaps consider telling the story of your anxiety with the intention of allowing yourself to be soothed. You may notice you aren’t allowing yourself to put it down or maybe you are not talking to the right people!
On the other hand, if you somehow got the horrible, unjust, unhealthy, and plain out ridiculous advice to NOT talk about your anxiety? Stop that now.
It doesn’t make you strong to suppress your painful emotions. And, you are not a burden for trying to engage in co-regulation with a trusted friend. That’s humanity.
I get a bit heated when people say things like, “Laura, I just need to stay strong now that Jim has died. Keep busy and don’t focus on it.” Your husband of 35 years just died and you believe that it’s strong to not grieve out loud and to just ignore your feelings by staying busy?
That is not being strong. It’s avoiding reality. And you are likely to have more anxiety in the long run.
Taking the time to note who or what calms you and then setting yourself up to have access to those resources is time well spent. And, it will prevent anxiety.
10) Repair after overwhelm so anxiety doesn’t accumulate
Prevention includes cleanup. After a hard experience or event, complete the stress cycle: walk, dance, shake, cry, laugh, or take a warm shower—anything that moves you from “on” to “done.” This may seem silly, but it is backed by science. If you don’t complete the stress cycle, you may find that stress manifests as physiological and/or mental symptoms.
Think of watching animals in the wild. When a lion chases a gazelle, the gazelle flees to attempt escape. But animals are wired to drop and play dead if they perceive they cannot escape. The hope is the predator, who prefers to kill their prey, will walk away.
If that happens, the animal who was being chased will always stand up and shake before they move on. Always. They complete the stress cycle.
Babies do this. But we learn that shaking is socially awkward, so we stop. You know who doesn’t? Some humans on the Autism spectrum. They shake or flap. They aren’t tracking the social norms in the same way others are. Good for them! They are accessing their bodies natural stress relief process.
I have a fantastic tool to help you engage in this process. It’s called TRE and it was developed for Veterans to prevent anxiety, and intervene with PTSD. It does so by activating this shaking response to stress. But it works beautifully for anyone who is holding on to stress.
Start here: A 5-minute daily ritual (steal this)
- Five minutes of 4,7,8 breath five minutes at a time three times a day.
- Name three sensations, three emotions, three thoughts.
- One minute of humming while you tidy your space.
- Movement breaks throughout the day: 10 squats, dancing in the kitchen, or just walking
- Set boundaries: say no, defer, or delegate one thing.
Repeat tomorrow. Prevent anxiety is not dramatic—it’s devotional.
Final note: If your anxiety has roots in trauma (for many, it does), nothing is “wrong” with you. Your body adapted brilliantly. Therapy that honors the body—EMDR, somatic work, mindfulness-informed approaches—can help renegotiate old alarms so present-day you gets more say.
Your bodyguard is teachable. With steady, compassionate practice, it learns to rest. Email me for support! And in the meantime, check out my YouTube channel and Instagram for more free tips!