The 3-2-1 Method for Releasing Anxiety

February 1, 2022

Anxiety can be paralyzing, and many times, it leads to panic attacks. The 3-2-1 Method can very much help you bring your anxiety and panic attacks under control. 

The first thing we always have to do is be aware. All change begins with awareness. But how is it that you come into awareness? The first thing to consider is stopping when you are having anxiety and/or a panic attack and notice what is going on in both your mind and in your body. What are you feeling in your physical body, and what emotions are you attaching to those physical manifestations?

Most people don’t really understand just how powerful words and thoughts can be and how the body will respond to those thoughts. So it is vitally important that you check in on your thought processes to see where it might be holding you back from getting a hold of your panic and anxiety.

Negative thinking is just a part of how humans operate, often called the negativity bias. In “What Is the Negativity Bias?,” author Kendra Cherry explains, “Research has shown that across a wide array of psychological events, people tend to focus more on the negative as they try to make sense of the world. We pay more attention to negative events than positive ones. We tend to learn more from negative outcomes and experiences. We even tend to make decisions based on negative information more than positive data.”

Why? Cherry explains: “Because negative information causes a surge in activity in a critical information processing area of the brain, our behaviors and attitudes tend to be shaped more powerfully by bad news, experiences, and information than positive ones.”

While you are learning to pay more attention to the negative thoughts that might be driving your anxiety, know that you can rewire your brain via neuroplasticity to become more focused on the positive. When you do this, you are, in essence, retraining the brain to think more uplifting and emotionally supportive thoughts. Then the body will be more likely to give you physical responses that are more calming, and less anxiety driven.

Now that we understand the importance of staying calm and positive, we need to understand how. The 3-2-1 Method is a very simple technique that works incredibly well.

3 Breaths

The “3” in this process starts by taking three deep breaths, as slowly and as deeply as possible. This might seem difficult at first, especially if your breathing has become shallow in response to your anxiety or panic reflex. 

Again, part of becoming aware is looking at how your body responds to your mental thoughts. If you are feeling panicked, of course your body is going to respond in kind by giving you shallow breaths. But it’s not good for you or your body.

Author Rachael Rifkin from Headspace.com explains, “When we breathe in a shallow way, the body remains in a cyclical state of stress—our stress causing shallow breathing and our shallow breathing causing stress. This sets off the sympathetic nervous system, the branch of the autonomic nervous system that primes us for activity and response.”

Long-term shallow breathing can seriously affect our health. According to John Luckovich, an apprentice Integrative Breathwork facilitator in Brooklyn, New York, “The chronic stress that is associated with shallow breathing results in lower amounts of lymphocyte, a type of white blood cell that helps to defend the body from invading organisms, and lowers the amounts of proteins that signal other immune cells. The body is then susceptible to contracting acute illnesses, aggravating pre-existing medical conditions, and prolonging healing times. Shallow breathing can turn into panic attacks, cause dry mouth and fatigue, aggravate respiratory problems, and is a precursor for cardiovascular issues. It can also have adverse side effects on the musculature of the body, causing headaches, neck aches, and increased risk of injury due to muscle tightness.”

In order to get your body’s stress response system under control, you need to just breathe and focus on your breathing. I have two different types of breathing that are helpful. 

The first type is called Triangular Breathing. This is where you breathe in for a count of 3 through your nose, breathe out for a count of 3 through your mouth, and then hold for a count of 3. Repeat. What happens is that your body starts to focus on the breathing response and not on the stress response. Plus all that great oxygen and nitrogen that is being produced by your lungs has a calming effect on your body. 

The other type is called Diaphragmatic Breathing (aka Belly Breathing). You breathe in deeply, causing both your chest and belly to rise. Monks and other meditation practitioners do this type of breathing because it is extremely beneficial for the body overall, reducing stress, decreasing our heart rate, relaxing our muscles, and increasing our energy levels. When we focus on breathing it also helps our mind stay focused on something that is useful, not harmful like negative or scary thoughts. 

With daily practice of this type of breathing, you can and will decrease your body’s stress response. However, you have to practice this and turn to this exercise in times of stress. 

Start by practicing one or both of these types of breathing, whichever feels best to you, and notice how it affects your body and body’s responses throughout the day. Perhaps you might find that you have less anxiety than you did the day before.

1. A relaxation effect, including decreased physiological arousal.
2. Increased attentional flexibility so that your thoughts become less “stuck” on whatever was bothering you.
3. Distancing effect—the problem seems smaller and further away.
4. Decreased worry.

And then there’s the positive effects of oxytocin. Often called the “love hormone,” oxytocin is essential for childbirth, breastfeeding, and strong parent-child bonding. This hormone also can help promote trust, empathy, and bonding in relationships, and oxytocin levels generally increase with physical affection like kissing, cuddling, and sex.

But it also can come from a simple hug. While this might seem silly to do to yourself, I dare you to try it. It actually does feel amazing. If you are feeling panicked and overwhelmed, what do you have to lose by simply hugging yourself?

1 Minute

Now that you have gotten your mind back on track and you have that amazing feel-good hormone running through your body, close your eyes and check in. Are you still having irrational or frightening thoughts? If you are, then bring your attention back to your breathing. Always bring your attention back to the breathing if you can.

Just take note of how you are feeling overall and if you feel better or need to continue for a bit longer to really get the full benefits of this exercise. Do this for 1 full minute.

Combined with the hugging and the breathing, you should be feeling a bit calmer than before. When it feels safe to do so—after about a minute of practice—check back in and let go of yourself. Take note of how your body is feeling overall. Did that experience put things back into perspective? Did it help you feel more calm and in control? Did it help your shallow breathing and stress response? Note what worked and what might still need some more practice. 

Like anything we do, humans get better with practice, so be willing to do this exercise several times a day until you are feeling the full beneficial effects.