Anxiety is a terrible thing. And it’s something we all suffer from. With Valentine’s Day this week, your worry might escalate even more. Maybe you find yourself anxious awaiting your date with a soon-to-be wife or husband? You’ve got to cope with that in some way because after all, we’re all human. Thankfully, many different ways to treat anxiety have emerged in recent years. One popular way to treat your worry, whilst also looking fiendishly fashionable, is the anxiety ring. Get yourself one of those, and you might just find another type of ring on your finger!
What are anti anxiety rings?
Anxiety rings come in many shapes, sizes and formats. But more on that later. What’s important is that an anxiety ring is type of fidget toy or stress-relief tool worn on the finger. They are typically designed with features like spinning rings or movable beads that can be twirled, twisted, or rotated to help distract the mind and alleviate anxiety.
Some anxiety relief rings also feature textures or patterns you can trace with your fingers for added sensory stimulation. Their designs also vary widlly, with different colours too. They can be made from materials like metal, plastic, or silicone. Some anti anxiety ring designs are also simple bands you can wear as a ring then twist or bend to relieve your worries.
It may seem simple, but having something like a spinning anxiety ring around your finger can do a lot to help!
What types of anxiety rings are there?
No worries, fellow fidgeter. There are several types of anxiety relief rings available on the market, each with its own unique features and design. A few of our favourite examples are:
- Anxiety Spinner Rings: This type of ring has a satisfying spinning outer band that can be twirled or rotated with the fingers. They are generally metal or plastic and have different textures or patterns on the outer band. That way, your sense of touch is always stimulated.
- Worry Rings: These rings are a little different. They have a smoother inn.er band and a textured outer band. Twist and bend them to scare away any unwanted anxiety symptoms.
- Twirling Rings: These nifty rings have a bunch of small beads or balls on the surface to twirl and rotate. Generally, they are made from silicone or plastic. They may also have big mixture of different textures or patterns on the beads.
- Sensory Rings: This type of anti anxiety ring has raised textures or patterns that you can trace around with your fingers. They also provide a little more sensory stimulation.
- Weighted Rings: Step aside regular anxiety relief rings. These ones are heavier and offer the wearer a greater sensation of grounding.
- Anxiety Fidget Rings: These rings are a little more special. They have small moving parts that can be clicked, flipped or twisted. They offer more of a physical outlet for nervous energy so you can fidget your way through any kind of anxiety.
As you can tell, there are a multitude of ways to reduce worry with the simple help of a ring. But you might be thinking, how does it all work?
How do they work?
So, the main idea behind anxiety relief rings is that they provide a physical distraction. It may take your mind off of stressful thoughts and hence, reduce anxiety levels. As you know, they come in all sorts of different styles and designs, but all share the same basic principle. They offer a fidgeting motion that is sooths and calms your mind, body and, if you’re lucky, even your soul! Sure, we can’t guarantee that last part, but they sure are helpful.
The science behind anxiety fidget rings is rooted in sensory integration. Our brains process information from the five senses to create a hefty and comprehensive understanding of the world around us. When we experience anxiety, our brains can become overloaded with stimuli, making it difficult to focus and regulate our emotions. That’s where the anxiety ring jumps in. The repetitive motion of spinning an anxiety relief ring gives you sensory input that can be calming and distracting. Anxiety gone.
One curious theory behind this is that fidgeting with the ring may stimulate the body’s nervous system – specifically the sympathetic nervous system which is responsible for the “fight or flight” response. Because the anxiety fidget ring offers a physical outlet for nervous energy, the sympathetic nervous system may be less active, resulting in a decrease in anxiety symptoms.
Another interesting theory is that the repetitive motion and textures of the ring may have a calming effect on the body, similar to how deep breathing or meditation help to relax your body. This could be due to the release of certain chemicals in the brain, such as endorphins, which can have a positive impact on mood and make you feel a little less anxious.
And hey, if it works for you, we at MightyMe are here for it.
Potential benefits of anti anxiety rings
Well, we hope if you’ve gained anything from this article, that you can see that anxiety relief rings are capable of, well, relieving anxiety. However, they have a few other benefits too.
- Improving your focus: Using an anxiety fidget ring can even help you concentrate your mind on the present moment and reduce distractions. By blocking out other emotions or worries with those repetitive hand movements, if you normally struggle maintaining focus, it might even help you concentrate once in a while!
- Enhancing self-regulation: Anxiety rings might just help you take control of your anxiety symptoms and manage them in the moment. This is a big step to self-regulating in the long term. By proving you can manage your worry by fiddling with your ring, it can be a big confidence booster in the long term.
- Being discreet: Anxiety fidget rings don’t have to be big and bold and brash. They can be worn discretely and carried around easily. They can even be real trendy. That makes them a convenient tool for managing anxiety symptoms in any situation, without everyone noticing.
Though anxiety rings might be very helpful for you, we should mention there are still a lot of studies and research to do to understand their effectiveness. Don’t use them as a replacement for therapy or other methods, but rather as a supplementary tool for managing anxiety symptoms.
Get started on your journey
So, now you know what anxiety relief rings can do. After Valentine’s Day, when you were nervously sitting opposite your future wife or husband-to-be in a bustling Pizza Express in Central London, you know there’s no need to worry. Of course, choose somewhere a little more classy for your next date… But when you do and while you’re there, spin and fidget with your anti anxiety ring to your heart’s content. After that – and some damned good conversation – you never know. Another ring (not an anxiety relief ring) will land on your finger!