What's Alia Bhatt's secret mantra for overcoming anxiety and panic attacks? Find out

Alia Bhatt in her recent ‘Ask Me Anything’ session revealed her mantra for overcoming anxiety. Here's all you need to know about her 5 senses grounding method.

Anxiety is something we've all experienced and felt at some point in our lives, whether it's giving your first speech or feeling your heart pounding before a job interview. Anxiety is not just in our heads, it shows up in a variety of physical symptoms from excessive sweating, shaking legs, fumbling or an increased heartbeat. It's OK to be anxious sometimes, but if it gets out of hand and interferes with your daily activities and relationships, it's important to find a way of coping that works for you. If you feel overwhelmed by your anxious thoughts, calm down - you are not alone. Even our favourite Bollywood celebrities feel anxious. Their lives may look glamorous from the outside, but celebrities from Deepika Padukone to Alia Bhatt have opened up about their low points from time to time.

Alia Bhatt hosted an 'Ask Me Anything' session on Wednesday on Instagram where she answered questions posed by her admirers. (Instagram/@aliaabhatt)

How Does Alia Bhatt Cope with Anxiety?

Alia Bhatt, our favourite Rani, is not only ruling the B-town world but also our hearts. The actress loves to interact with her fans and following that, she gave everyone a sweet surprise on Wednesday when she hosted an 'Ask Me Anything' session on Instagram where she answered questions posed by her admirers. One of the questions asked by a fan was, "How do you overcome fear? I feel like as an actor you might get anxious at some point".Sharing her two cents on overcoming anxiety, Alia replied, “I think one of the most important things is... something I have noticed that always helps me is... when you are anxious, you usually try to cover it up by trying to be okay. So the most important thing is to allow yourself to feel it and go through the experience because it is just part of the ups and downs of life. ”

Later revealing her way of coping with anxiety attacks, Alia says: "The one thing to remember when you are going through an anxiety attack is something that I always do is focus on five things, something that you can touch, something that you can hear and something that you can smell. In this exercise, you basically focus on your senses and try to focus on five things, if it is just a phase, just know that change is the only constant, so this will change".

What is the five senses technique described by Alia Bhatt?

The five senses grounding technique is a popular psychological strategy that help connect or “ground” you in the present moment. They are basically a kind of mindfulness, which has been proven to be effective in treating a wide range of mental health issues. It is sometimes referred to as the 5-4-3-2-1 approach. Here's how you practise grounding using your five senses.

First, you may want to try the 5-5-5 technique, a straightforward deep breathing practice. You must inhale for five seconds, hold your breath for five seconds, and then exhale for five seconds to complete this. You can go on doing this until your thoughts begin to calm down or you feel some comfort. When you can find your breath, try practising the 5-4-3-2-1 technique. For that, you want to look around and focus on:

-5 things you see

-4 things you feel

-3 things you hear

-2 things you smell

-1 thing you taste

The idea is that the 5-4-3-2-1 technique helps you shift your focus to what’s currently happening around you instead of what’s making you feel anxious.