Are you feeling overwhelmed by anxiety? These practical strategies will help you manage anxiety and feel more in control of your life.
Heart racing. Stomach-churning. Sweating from places you didn’t know you could sweat from. Wanting the ground to swallow me up.
That’s what anxiety feels like to me.
If you live with anxiety as I do, it’s important to learn how to manage it to get through the days and live your best life.
Go back to basics, keep things simple and do something gentle to enhance your overall physical and mental well-being.
Here are 17 tips manage anxiety. These tips help me live a less-stressful and more fulfilling life.
1. Listen to Music
Music is one of the most undervalued forms of ‘therapy’.
Have you got a favourite ‘happy’ song or something that brings good memories? Or something that manages to shift you from whatever mood you are in into something better?
I have a few, including some classic rock ballads!
Do yourself a favour and create an anxiety playlist for yourself. An anxiety playlist is a great resource to help you manage your anxiety now! Look at it as ‘calming the savage beast’, which is what I see my anxiety as sometimes.
The next time you feel stressed, pop on some headphones and immerse yourself in uplifting or soothing music. There are a plethora of playlists to suit every mood and preferred music type on Spotify!
You could also challenge yourself to learn something new by taking music lessons to lift your spirits more regularly. You could learn to play an instrument or even take singing lessons!
2. Learn to Breathe
Okay, breathing is easier said than done.
However, breathing is one of the most important things we can all learn to do.
If you’re like me, I tend to be a shallow breather, OR I don’t breathe, which is why I sigh a lot. Or realise that I’m holding my breath, and then … I breathe.
When anxiety hits, focus on only the simple process of breathing and nothing else.
Yes, it’s hard.
However, breathing to relieve anxiety can be learned with practice.
Here’s a simple breathing exercise you can try out to help manage your anxiety:
- Close your eyes and allow yourself to breathe.
- Don’t stress about how you are breathing. Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth.
- Focus on the process of breathing.
- Once again, in through your nose and out through your mouth.
- Notice your breath – how does the air feel entering your body? Is it warm or cool? Hurried, shallow or deep?
- And on leaving your body – how different does the air feel? Is it warmer? Is it rushed, or is it slower?
- Focus on your body and on the rise and fall of your chest and stomach as you breathe in and out.
- Take the air deep into your abdomen with each new breath and release it.
- As you continue to breathe, exhale slower and slower.
- And with each breath, visualise exhaling out your stressors.
Anxiety tip: Guided meditation sessions and Dharma talks by Tara Brach are my favourite way to relax while opening my mind to a more mindful way of thinking.
3. Quit coffee
Caffeine can be the worst enemy of those prone to anxiety.
Coffee gives me heart palpitations, nausea and panic attacks. It makes my skin crawl and my mind race. However, I love it.
It’s been over three years since I quit coffee, which was hard, but after a lot of soul-searching and weighing up the pros and cons, I ditched the coffee bean and haven’t looked back.
These days I substitute my daily coffee with tea – English Breakfast, Lemongrass and Ginger or Fennel being my preferences. When I’m feeling particularly decadent, I’ll enjoy a nice warm hot chocolate with almond milk.
4. Go Easy on Yourself
You’ll also benefit from learning to go easy on yourself.
Aka – giving yourself a break!
This is one of the most important things you can learn to do.
After all, we are all simply doing our best at any moment.
This thought permits me to give myself a break when things go pear-shaped, beating myself up and feeling tired and down.
This thought also gives me comfort because I do believe it’s true.
5. Embrace Mindfulness
I did an 8-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction course (MBSR) a few years ago, which was more than worthwhile in helping me to manage anxiety.
This course helped me identify stressors in my life.
It also helped me identify the baggage I had been carrying for years and its impacts on my physical and mental health.
Furthermore, it taught me techniques to heal myself.
Long story short, I resolved years of stomach and other health issues. I also completed the program with an arsenal of stress management tools for life.
6. Rediscover Hugs
Hugs are a wonderful temporary cure for anxiety, so don’t be afraid to ask one.
There’s nothing like a big bear hug!
Try to hold your hug for 12 seconds and feel the connection between your hearts. Grab someone you feel comfortable with (and who feels comfy with hugging) and give them a big bear hug OR let them hold you.
7. Move & Stretch
Regular movement and exercise can do wonders for your physical and mental health. Scientists have even proven that endorphins released during physical activity make us all feel happier.
Yoga is great for stretching out the body whilst allowing you to breathe easier, gain clarity of mind and help you relax, and I find it one of the best tools in my arsenal to help me manage my anxiety.
Every morning I allow myself at least 10 minutes for yoga stretching.
By doing so, I’ve found that it helps me to wake up, clear my head for the morning and centre me for the day.
Stretching also helps me stretch out any kinks in my body from sleeping. I follow this up most evenings with a gentle 15-30 minute yoga session with Yoga With Adriene.
8. Meditate
Every day, as little as ten minutes of meditation is a proven way to help ease stress and calm your anxiety. However, meditation can be challenging when combined with anxiety.
So go easy on yourself and delve into mediation gently. The key is not to pass judgment on yourself and to find what works best for you.
Before starting the day or heading off to sleep for the night, clear your mind of any negative or anxious thoughts by focusing on your body and your breath. You’ll soon notice how much of a difference this makes to your day.
I first started meditating by enrolling in a community mindfulness meditation class. I then continued by loading meditation podcasts and Apps onto my phone to take wherever I went.
And slowly but surely, I developed my meditation practice from there.
Apps like headspace and other online meditation programmes are great tools to help manage your anxiety – especially if you are new to meditation or have trouble focusing. They can help you focus and guide you through each stage of the meditation process.
Anxiety tip: Carry a pair of headphones to immerse yourself in guided meditation when needed.
If you are struggling to meditate, be comforted by the thought that even long-term meditators have moments where they struggle.
9. See Someone
It’s good to see a councillor now and then to get things off of your chest.
I started seeing someone again after recognising that my overall mood was dipping and I wasn’t coping with things. I’d been feeling anxious a lot and had been suffering from panic attacks. These also started preventing me from living normally (driving to work every day was becoming a real issue).
Seeing a professional was the best thing for me, as my anxiety and stress levels were high, and my depression threatened to come back. I’m feeling a lot better, am continuing with my counselling, and am making lasting changes in my life – both big and small – to help manage my stress and anxiety levels.
10. Take a Break
Allow yourself to take REGULAR breaks from whatever it is you are doing.
And I don’t mean just once a day.
GET UP out of your chair or step away from your desk or whatever you are doing and take a 10-minute break (at least – it should be longer).
11. Head Outdoors
A new study has revealed that two hours a week in nature is the ‘dose’ you need to increase health and happiness.
Spending time in nature doesn’t mean you should be heading out into the pristine wilderness or spectacular national parks. City parks, community gardens, and farmland are all-natural environments. Even more of a reason for communities to incorporate green spaces to ensure ‘nature’ is inclusive to all.
The next time you feel anxious, head outside and go for a slow walk somewhere – to the local park, along the beach or even just around the block. The movement and fresh air will do you a world of good.
12. Good Sleep Hygiene
Make going to sleep as inviting as possible by making subtle changes to your bedtime routine. This will help prepare your mind and body for the rest it needs.
Practice good sleep hygiene by sticking to a standard ‘bedtime’ and unplugging two hours before going to sleep.
Invest in some nice bedding, put up block-out curtains, find an organic herbal tea you like to sip on before bedtime, take a hot shower, meditate, write in your gratitude journal, and keep a notebook and pen by your bedside to write your thoughts if you wake up in the middle of the night (gets them out of your head) – do whatever you helps.
13. Write Your Thoughts Free
Grab a notebook and some colourful pens and write down how you feel.
Writing down your thoughts helps stop the repetitive thought cycle and get everything out of your head.
When I’m anxious, I love writing lists as they remind me what’s most important in my life. Here are some ideas to try:
- What are you grateful for?
- List 10 things you love
- Write down your to-do list – get everything out of your head and onto paper!
Here are some other list-making ideas.
14. The Beauty Of A Good Book
One of the ways I tackle anxiety is through reading. I love sinking my teeth into a good fictitious book where I get swept up by the story and the characters if it’s a series, even better!
Instead of bingeing on Netflix for the entire weekend, tune out from tech and make reading a good book your new habit. Forget about whatever is consuming your mind and escape to another world for a while, losing yourself in a wistful, romantic or thrilling story.
If you need some ideas, check out my Goodreads Reading shelf here.
15. Get Crafty and Creative
Learn to occupy your mind with something else, such as a new hobby!
Invest in a jam-packed craft box for your house, full of bits and pieces that you can morph into beautiful creations.
Start making celebration cards for your family, designing homemade gifts for your friends, or creating some artwork for your house. You never know where your new hobby will lead! You could be the next Etsy superstar!
16. Calming Cooking
Believe it or not, cooking can be therapeutic!
By eating healthier home-cooked food more often, your spirits will start to lift. You’ll also become more aware of WHAT you are putting into your body and fuel your body with the right nutrients. After all, a healthy body equals a healthy mind.
Curries, pizza and burgers are my comfort food, and instead of ordering takeaway, we now cook our healthy versions from the comfort of our kitchen.
17. Talk to Someone
Instead of turning inwards (a natural response), turn outwards.
If you’re feeling stressed or anxious, talk to someone about how you feel. This could be a family member, friend, colleague or professional. You could even call an anonymous helpline.
There is no shame; you don’t need to suffer in silence.
If you are around people, tap your friend, colleague or partner on the shoulder and ask them to go for a little walk – and then either talk to them about how you are feeling or about mindless randomness. There are also some amazing, confidential helplines and support groups worldwide.
Try writing about your feelings if you aren’t ready to talk to anyone. This can help you explore your innermost thoughts and gain a new perspective, or at least get them out of your head.
I see a psychologist regularly to discuss what’s happening in my life. This includes anything stressing me out, setting gentle goals, discussing tracking my goals, and discussing ways to structure my life to complement my mental health needs.
Remember, you are not alone
Everyone feels anxious at some stage of their life, so don’t feel ashamed, as you are not alone!
This is important.
Acknowledge that you have the strength to overcome any challenge and that your anxiety will pass, even if it doesn’t feel like it ever will.
What are the ways you’ve used to manage anxiety?
Is there anything that jumps out at you from this list you can use in your life?
Some Additional Mental Health Articles
Writing Tips to Help You Explore Your Depression Gently
