How to Calm Down: Tree Visualisation

This is the first of an occasional series of blog posts where we’ll take a look at several different ideas for how to calm down (sometimes known as ‘grounding exercises’). When your anxiety’s been triggered and you’re feeling stressed and overwhelmed, it may be hard to figure out how to calm down. Your body’s jittery and tense, your chest feels tight, and your stomach’s churning.

So if you’re a person who values creativity and the imagination, here’s something to try: the Tree Visualisation. The Tree Visualisation can be used at home, and also when you’re out and about. You can adapt it for use in a public place, as the slight movements involved are very subtle and no-one need know what you’re doing. You can even do it with your eyes open. It’s one of the options in my blog post ‘Emotional First-Aid Kit’. 

Tip: If you also practice this at times when you are not feeling tense, it will gradually become easier to do when you are caught up in the grip of anxiety and stress.

How to Calm Down: Tree Visualisation

What to Do

1. Sit Comfortably

2. Imagine a Tree

3. Breathing

Deepening the experience

You could also try adding to the tree visualisation when you’re outdoors. Find a tree that you feel drawn to, and take time to closely observe it. Touch the bark, and the leaves, and think of words that could describe the textures. Notice how the light falls on the branches and foliage. Inhale deeply, taking in any scents. Sit or stand with your back against the tree trunk. With your eyes either open or closed (depending on how safe you feel) concentrate on getting some sense of the tree’s presence and energy inside you.

Has this been useful for helping you calm down? What aspects worked for you? And did you find yourself adding extra elements to make the tree visualisation more effective for you? Let us know in the comments below.