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What is the 3-3-3 Rule For Anxiety?

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What is the 3-3-3 Rule For Anxiety?

What is the 3-3-3 Rule For Anxiety?

If you have ever struggled with anxiety, you might ask, “how can I get treatment for anxiety,” “is my stress a mental health disorder,” or “what is the 3 3 3 rule for anxiety”.

Satori Health is a mental health treatment center in the San Fernando Valley. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help with comprehensive anxiety treatment programs in Sherman Oaks.

What is Anxiety?

Anxiety is a part of everyday life. Anxiety about missing work, losing your job, and not having money to pay your bills is what gets you out of bed during the week, just the same as anxiety about letting your partner down is what encourages you to do your half of a presentation at work. 

However, when feelings of anxiety and panic interfere with your daily activities, are disproportionate to the actual danger you are experiencing, are outside of your control, and are long-lasting, it is indicative of an anxiety disorder.

How to Treat Anxiety

The 3 3 3 for anxiety technique is something that can be used in between therapy sessions to manage anxiety at the moment or cope with anxiety without medication. However, it should not be the only method you use to treat anxiety. Anxiety disorders are typically treated with psychotherapy and medication

What is the 3-3-3 Rule For Anxiety?

The 3 3 3 rule for anxiety is one of many coping techniques you can use if you are struggling with anxiety. But what is the 3 3 3 rule for anxiety? 

The 3 3 3 rule for anxiety

It’s a way for you to informally cope with your anxiety and ground yourself at the moment. It’s particularly useful if you start to feel high anxiety or an oncoming anxiety attack.

With this rule, anytime you start to feel anxious or overwhelmed, you are supposed to stop, look around at your current environment and:

  1. Name three things you can see in your environment, 
  2. List three things you can hear in your environment, 
  3. Move around and touch three things in your environment.

For example:

Tina struggles with generalized anxiety disorder. While at work, she starts to feel an oncoming panic attack after receiving an email from her boss that says he wants to meet with her that afternoon.

So, Tina stops and names three things she can see in her environment: her desk, computer, and purse. Then she lists three things she can hear: the receptionist on the phone, a colleague typing, and soft music coming from a nearby radio. She gets up and touches three things in her environment: her arms, her stress ball on the desk, and her warm cup of tea.

By doing all of this, Tina is brought back into the present, where she feels more grounded and connected to her environment rather than trapped in her anxiety about what her boss plans to discuss that afternoon.

3 3 3 for anxiety is a great technique to use informally whenever you start to feel your anxiety rise. There isn’t any formal research into the effectiveness of this tool, and it isn’t a substitute for legitimate mental health treatment, but it can still offer significant relief at that moment. 

In addition to the 333 rule for anxiety, you can get legitimate help from a mental health treatment facility where other coping mechanisms can help reduce the severity and frequency of your anxiousness or panic attack.

You might apply 3 3 3 for anxiety to a full mental health treatment program which also includes things like cognitive behavioral therapy CBT or dialectical behavioral therapy DBT. 

CBT and DBT

If you are ready for help, a good facility like Satori Health we’ll integrate evidence-based therapies to give you practical coping skills and strategies you can apply in addition to the 3 3 3 rule for anxiety.

Cognitive behavioral therapy and dialectical behavioral therapy can help you recognize anxious, negative thoughts that might harm your views of yourself and the world around you and your subsequent actions. After recognizing these negative thought patterns, you can cultivate healthier, positive thought patterns that are more grounded and realistic, working to reduce or alleviate unnecessary anxiety.

Satori Health Offers Anxiety Treatment

Now you have answers to questions like “what is the 3 3 3 rule for anxiety,” but if you are ready for legitimate anxiety treatment, we can help. 

Satori Health offers anxiety treatment that provides a wide range of psychological counseling and therapy like cognitive behavioral therapy. We can help you focus on developing specific skills that improve your symptoms and help you return to normalcy. If necessary, we can also work with you to find which medication is most useful in helping to relieve symptoms of your anxiety, like anti-anxiety medications or antidepressants.
Find mental health treatment in Los Angeles. Satori Health today to get help with 3 3 3 for anxiety.