Regulation Skills: How to Ground Yourself When Anxiety Hijacks Your Mind

August 28, 2025

Anxiety is not stress

It's waking up with a clenched jaw before your feet hit the floor. It's replaying that awkward comment hours later, and checking your phone for the fifth time, and not feeling settled.

When anxiety hijacks your mind, it convinces you that relief comes from control. The truth is that most of life is outside your control. That is why anxiety is so exhausting. It keeps your mind working on fixing problems that cannot be solved in the moment.

The good news is that there are evidence-based skills you can practice in real time to help settle anxious thoughts. These come from therapies like CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) and DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy). They are not a cure for anxiety, but they can create space between what you feel and how you respond. That space is where clarity lives.

Radical Acceptance (DBT)

When anxiety spikes, most of us resist it: “This should not be happening. I cannot handle this.” That fight adds another layer of tension.

Radical acceptance is the opposite of giving up. It helps you tell the truth: “This is reality right now. I don’t  like it, but I can focus on what is in my control.” This shift frees up mental energy. Instead of depleting it on resistance, you can use it to steady yourself and take the next step.

Mindfulness to Anchor in the Present

Anxiety pulls you out of the moment. It drags you into the past or catapults you into the future. Mindfulness interrupts this cycle by bringing your attention back to where your body actually is.

It's not about emptying your mind. It's about noticing what is here without judgment.

Practice:

• Noticing your breath.

• Feeling your feet on the floor.

• Naming one sound in the room.

Even a few seconds of mindful awareness can loosen anxiety’s grip and help you choose your next action with more clarity.

Shift the Thought (Cognitive Reframing in CBT)

Anxious thoughts tend to sound extreme and absolute: “I am going to fail. I cannot handle this.” Cognitive reframing helps you challenge these thoughts and replace them with something more balanced.

This is not about pretending everything is fine. It's about checking the facts and widening the perspective.

Example:
Your mind says, “I am going to fail.”
You ask yourself: “Is that completely true? Have I handled hard things before? Did my worst fears always come true?”
You land on: “This is hard, but I can take it step by step.”

Reframing reminds you of your resilience and your track record of surviving what once felt impossible.

Moving Forward

Anxiety will not disappear overnight. Skills like radical acceptance, mindfulness, and reframing can change the way you relate to it. They give you back choice in moments when anxiety tries to take over.

You don’t need to feel calm to ground yourself. You only need a little space between the feeling and your next step. That’s where healing begins.

If anxiety feels constant, overwhelming, or is interfering with your daily life, please reach out to a licensed therapist or psychiatrist. More than 40 million adults in the United States live with anxiety each year (National Alliance on Mental Illness). You are not alone, and seeking help is an act of strength. 

Journal Prompt

What is one situation I am facing right now that I cannot control, and how can I meet it with more acceptance, presence, and self-trust?

Rooted in truth. Guided by clarity.

Clarity Haus