Talking about anxious times… kinda makes me anxious.”
Let’s look over what helps.
1. Deep Breathing
Sometimes my mind is racing so fast, I feel like I have a superpower. Then I realize superpowers are beyond exhausting & I hate them! If I find myself feeling this way, I set a timer for 3 minutes – longer than that takes too much time.
Next, I focus on counting as I breathe. breathe in for 8 and breathe out for 7. Breath in for 7 and breathe out for 6. I follow this pattern until I reach “out for 4. Then I start going up. It takes enough thinking that I don’t get distracted as I go.
You do what works for you!
2. Ground Yourself
When I first started experiencing anxiety I asked my roommate what to do. She graduated in psychology and worked in a field that would provide me an educated response. Grounding techniques were so helpful!
Whenever I feel anxious, I focus my attention to the physical contact my body is making with its surroundings. My feet are touching the ground. My arm is set on the table. I am sitting in a chair.
If I need to feel more secure, I place the palm of my hand on a surface and focus on what it feels like. I take a few deep breaths and allow my eyes to look around the room that I have recognized I am in.
3. Write It Out
Writing down my thoughts helps me to declutter my mind. It helps me compartmentalize and stay organized. Typing works best for me, considering I can get my words out much faster. There are nights where I stay up for hours just typing and typing.
Often while writing, I create a section where I place any questions my thoughts had led me to. That helps me to feel like I can do something about my anxiety-filled thoughts. I can seek answers, and talk to friends about some of my questions!
4. Read & Repeat! But Do It Slowly!
Whether this is a scripture, a poem, a mantra, a quote, or a book I find it very helpful to choose one paragraph, one stanza, or one verse to slowly read over and over. It helps focus my mind and slow it down to match the seconds of the day.
I prefer physical scriptures because online copies often provide other distractions. I haven’t tried this next thing yet, but making a list of go-to short messages may be helpful. To start, Proverbs 3: 5-6 is my favorite one to do this with!
5. Say a Prayer Aloud
That’s right – ALOUD! Say it louder than a whisper and don’t even try to say it silently. I mean you can if you want. Knowing the mind of anxious times, your list of to do’s will hijack the prayer and you will find yourself on your feet and doing other things.
It won’t be until you go to bed and your sweet husband reminds you to say your prayers that the “Dear Heavenly Father” will sound a bit too familiar.
Deja vu will hit right before the realization that you never finished your initial prayer. Why? Because you didn’t say it aloud. It’s a lot harder to get distracted if you hear yourself say the words to heaven.
6. Act Against Your Fears
Let’s throw out an example: If I am feeling anxious about going to a large gathering, I work to follow these steps.
Decide to take actual steps toward the front door.
Once you reach the front door, recognize you did that! Pat yourself on the back.
Next, decide to open the door. Once the door is open, SMILE – because you did that.
Keep using the strengths of your small successes to do hard things.
7. Make 2 Crucial Lists
Usually, when I am in a reel I am fixated on things that are out of my control. So I make lists. One is full of answers to the question, “What is in my control?” The other is full of answers to the opposite, “What is out of my control?”
8. Focus on What You Can Control
If you made your 2 lists, you now have what’s necessary to make clear boundaries for yourself. Stop thinking about that second list, and tell yourself that you are only allowed to think about the first list.
If a 2nd list item pops up, push it away and remind yourself, “That’s out of my control, so I am going to focus on what I can control.”
9. Find Some Sweet Tunes
Calming music creates a safe haven for me! If you’re looking for a playlist, here is one I started creating on Spotify!
I don’t know about you, but music brings me to my happy place! It just puts me in a good frame of mind and so I can see things for what they really are.
Bonus Point!
This point goes to anyone who can tell me they’ve got more ideas! Comment below and share your wisdom, questions, or thoughts!
In the meantime, together we will get through another day, hour, or maybe just a minute! It’s true, sometimes life beats us down, but us “anxious people”, we get back up.
Thanks for inspiring me to keep on going. I love that about ya’ll.
I loved those ideas Erica! We hysucal activity is another great anxiety relaxer as well as talking it out with someone close!!
Thanks so much!! I loved this post!!