How familiar are you with your body’s response to anxiety? Perhaps you already know the symptoms of how your body shows you that you’re feeling anxious. Symptoms like elevated heart rate, sweaty palms, flushed face, clammy skin, muscle tension, tension headaches, shallow breathing, uncontrolled worry, rumination, and more. Mild anxiety can serve as a motivator to ease our discomfort by spurring us into action. But what about when it becomes unbearable? An anxiety attack. An 8 our of 10 on the discomfort scale? As humans, we can only sustain this level of discomfort for so long. Our bodies want to express or expel the discomfort to get back to our baseline of functioning, most easily accessed through cathartic release. Let’s take a look at some predictable choices the body has for cathartic release to return to baseline.
1. Crying. Although clients may feel apologetic or uncomfortable with their own tears, it’s not uncommon for them to report feeling better or at least more neutral after a really good cry. This cathartic release is a common option their body chooses when feeling high levels of anxiety, with or without their consent. As therapists, we can support them in identifying safe spaces for crying if they feel uncomfortable with the expression or have a childhood chalked full of messages saying they shouldn’t cry. Therapeutically, crying can be a healthy outlet for anxiety.
2. Screaming. Have you heard of scream therapy? Children have been encouraged to scream to regulate their little bodies. Adults may embrace this outlet on rollercoasters or a well-insulated car or soft pillow. As another expression of expelling strong emotions, it can be effective under the right conditions.
3. Orgasm. Underrated yet effective! This is a more challenging cathartic release because of the blocks to libido and sexual arousal that can occur in states of high anxiety, especially in women. Yet the benefits of orgasm have been documented, including relaxation, more youthful appearance, and of course, stress relief!
4. Comfort in Food. Have you noticed times where you are feeling stressed or anxious and crave comfort food? This is the body’s response to elevated cortisol levels, also known as stress hormones. When cortisol levels spike, we crave fatty or sugary foods. Seeking foods we enjoy can also be an emotional response to stress, such as seeking dopamine, the “feel good” hormone to feel happier or using food to fill the void of needs that remain unmet.
5. Exercise/Movement. This is a cathartic release that is often found low on our coping list because of the assumption that we need to go to a gym to exercise. However, exercise is all about movement which increases oxygen intake and blood flow, both of which help us feel less anxious. Imagine being able to trick your brain from recognizing an elevated heart rate as an anxiety attack to an elevated heart rate due to movement or exercise? Not only does working our muscles give us some relief, the pleasant sensation of tired muscles or a loose, jelly-like feeling to our limbs after intentional exercise can be an enjoyable sensation after the discomfort of anxiety. Movement also serves to increase our breath, which can be a strategic response to anxiety which tends to make our breathing shallow and strained at our lungs instead of deep, restorative breaths at our belly.
Now that you’ve explored five possible cathartic release options to strong emotions including anxiety, which are you most likely to choose? Is there one outlet you’ve forgotten that deserves some experimentation to see how it works for you? As you can imagine, not all of these cathartic release tools are options depending on being in the community versus being at home. Yet in the therapy space, these outlets are seen as tools that can serve as homework to try, gathering data on what works best for your body in response to elevated anxiety you want to shift.