The Power of Slowness: How Doing Tasks Slowly Can Soothe an Anxious Nervous System
The Power of Slowness: How Doing Tasks Slowly Can Soothe an Anxious Nervous System
When anxiety hits, everything feels urgent. Your heart races, thoughts speed up, and suddenly the dishes, the inbox, and the text you haven’t answered all scream for your attention. The impulse is to go faster—to fix it, finish it, figure it out. But what if the most healing thing you could do in that moment is the opposite?
Slowing down your movements can help calm your entire nervous system. It’s not just a mindfulness trick—it’s neuroscience.
Why Slowness Helps When You’re Anxious
Anxiety activates your sympathetic nervous system—the part responsible for fight, flight, or freeze. Your body prepares to act fast and defend you, even when you’re just trying to reply to an email or clean the kitchen.
When you intentionally slow down, you activate the parasympathetic nervous system—especially the vagus nerve, which helps regulate heart rate, digestion, and emotional equilibrium. This shift tells your body, “We’re safe. We don’t have to panic.”
According to Dr. Stephen Porges, developer of Polyvagal Theory, slow, intentional movement helps send cues of safety to your body:
“The body responds to cues of safety through tone of voice, facial expression, and even tempo of movement. Slower movements tell the nervous system there is no need to mobilize.”
(Source: Polyvagal Theory: Neurophysiological Foundations of Emotions, Attachment, Communication, and Self-Regulation)
Try This: Slowing Down as a Regulation Practice
Next time you feel overwhelmed or overstimulated, try doing your next task 20% slower than usual. This might look like:
Washing one dish at a time with gentle movements
Walking across the room without rushing your steps
Folding laundry mindfully while breathing deeply
Typing slower, letting yourself pause between thoughts
As you move, notice your breath, your body, and the space around you. Slowness becomes a way to anchor back into the present moment.
ADHD and the Urge to Hurry
If you live with ADHD, you might be familiar with the internal drive to rush through things—especially boring or overwhelming tasks. But hurrying can increase errors and dysregulation, which leads to more anxiety and shame.
Clinical psychologist Dr. Russell Ramsay, who specializes in ADHD, notes that slowing down can support executive functioning by improving accuracy and reducing task-switching overload.
(Source: https://www.additudemag.com/slowing-down-adhd-productivity-strategy/)
Intentional slowness can feel counterintuitive—even frustrating. But over time, it builds a bridge between your reactive brain and your wise mind.
Anxiety wants urgency. But healing asks for presence. When you slow your body, you give your brain a chance to catch up—and you remind your nervous system that you’re not in danger. You’re just here. And that’s enough.
Further Reading:
Polyvagal Theory by Dr. Stephen Porges: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3108032/
Slowing Down to Speed Up (ADDitude Magazine): https://www.additudemag.com/slowing-down-adhd-productivity-strategy/
How Slowness Can Support Mental Health (Psychology Today): https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/urban-survival/202007/slow-down-and-feel-better
