What Is the 3-3-3 Rule for Anxiety?
Welcome to the 3 3 3 Technique For Anxiety
Anxiety can often feel overwhelming, but there are practical techniques to help manage it in the moment. One simple yet effective tool many people turn to is the 3-3-3 rule. It’s a grounding technique that can help you bring your mind back to the present and temporarily reduce feelings of anxiety.
While this method can help manage anxiety in the short term, it’s important to remember that it’s not a cure. In this blog, we’ll explore the 3-3-3 rule, discuss different approaches to addressing anxiety, and look at how anxiety can manifest in various forms.
How Does the 333 Rule For Anxiety Work?
The 3-3-3 rule is a quick technique designed to help you refocus when anxiety starts to take over. It involves tuning into your surroundings and using your senses to anchor yourself in the present moment. Here’s how it works:
Look around and name three things you can see.
Identify three sounds you can hear—whether it’s the hum of a fan, birds chirping, or distant traffic.
Move three parts of your body, such as wiggling your fingers, rolling your shoulders, or tapping your toes.
By doing this, you interrupt the cycle of anxious thoughts and focus on what’s happening in the here and now. It’s a simple tool that can help break the spiral of anxiety when it starts to feel overwhelming.
However, while the 3-3-3 rule can be useful in managing anxiety in the moment, it doesn’t address the underlying causes of anxiety. For a more long-term solution, it's important to explore different approaches to understanding and treating anxiety.
Other Approaches to Managing and Treating Anxiety
Anxiety affects people in different ways, and there’s no single solution that works for everyone. From my experience as a hypnotherapist, with over 10 years of helping people overcome anxiety, I’ve seen that the most effective treatments are the ones that address the root cause. Here are some of the other ways to approach anxiety beyond the 3-3-3 rule:
1. Counselling and Therapy
Talking to a trained counsellor or therapist can provide an emotional outlet for your anxiety. This method helps you to process your thoughts and feelings in a safe environment. While counselling can be highly supportive, it’s not always focused on resolving the deeper causes of anxiety. For some, it can be helpful in gaining perspective, but others may feel they need something more action-oriented.
2. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
CBT is one of the most widely used therapies for treating anxiety. It focuses on changing the negative thought patterns and behaviours that contribute to anxiety. CBT equips you with practical tools to manage anxious thoughts as they arise. However, it requires active participation and can take time to produce results. It’s a great method for those who prefer a structured approach to understanding and managing anxiety.
3. Hypnotherapy: Addressing Anxiety at Its Root
Hypnotherapy works differently from talk therapy or CBT because it aims to get to the subconscious root of the issue. Often, anxiety is tied to deep-seated fears, past traumas, or unresolved emotions. Hypnotherapy allows you to access the subconscious mind, where these issues may be stored, and release them.
“After years of struggling with anxiety, I found Gary, and hypnotherapy has made a huge difference. I had tried other therapies, but nothing got to the core of what was causing my anxiety like hypnotherapy did. After just a few sessions, I felt more at peace than I had in years.” – John, London
One of the main benefits of hypnotherapy is that it often produces results much faster than traditional therapies, with many clients noticing changes in just a few sessions. If you’re looking for a treatment that goes beyond surface-level management and addresses the root cause, hypnotherapy could be the answer.
Forms of Anxiety and How They Manifest
Anxiety isn’t one-size-fits-all. It manifests in different ways depending on the individual, and understanding the type of anxiety you’re dealing with can help determine the best approach to treatment. Here are some of the most common forms of anxiety:
1. Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
With GAD, anxiety tends to manifest as constant worry and overthinking, often without a clear cause. People with GAD may feel anxious most of the time, even when there’s no obvious trigger. This can lead to exhaustion, difficulty concentrating, and physical symptoms like muscle tension or headaches.
2. Panic Disorder
Panic attacks can feel incredibly frightening, with symptoms such as a racing heart, shortness of breath, dizziness, and chest pain. People with panic disorder experience sudden, intense episodes of fear, often without warning. These attacks can be debilitating and leave the individual feeling anxious about when the next one will occur.
3. Social Anxiety
Social anxiety involves an intense fear of social situations. Whether it’s public speaking, meeting new people, or even attending a gathering, individuals with social anxiety often feel extreme discomfort or worry about being judged, embarrassed, or humiliated in front of others.
4. Health Anxiety
With health anxiety, individuals constantly worry about their health, often believing that they have a serious illness despite reassurance from medical professionals. This form of anxiety can lead to obsessive checking of symptoms and frequent visits to the doctor.
5. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
People with OCD experience intrusive thoughts (obsessions) that cause anxiety and often engage in repetitive behaviours (compulsions) to try to alleviate that anxiety. These compulsions can take up a significant amount of time and can interfere with daily life.
Final Thoughts: Managing Anxiety Long-Term
While the 3-3-3 rule can offer a quick, in-the-moment way to manage anxiety, it’s important to remember that longer-term treatments are available. Counselling, CBT, and hypnotherapy all offer different approaches depending on what you’re looking for.
In my experience, hypnotherapy has been particularly effective in addressing anxiety at its core. Rather than simply managing symptoms, it helps release the underlying cause, offering a more permanent solution. If you’re struggling with anxiety and are ready to explore a new approach, hypnotherapy may be worth considering.
