4 Suggestion to Help Navigate Anxiety
Girl covering her face.
I’ve struggled with anxiety for as long as I can remember, but it wasn’t until college that I realized just how bad it had gotten. My mind would race constantly, sleep became impossible, and when I could sleep, I’d often deal with sleep paralysis. There were times I felt so anxious that I’d end up throwing up. After graduating, I made a decision: I didn’t want to keep relying on medication to manage all of this. With more free time, I finally felt ready to face these emotions. I reached out to my doctor again, and she suggested seeing a behavioral specialist. I agreed. A behavioral specialist helps you build practical tools and healthier habits to better cope with experiences like anxiety. Through that process, I learned techniques I’d never been exposed to before, and surprisingly, some of them actually worked for me.
Light bulb.
1. Set Time To Think About Anxiety
I’ve started making time every day to think about what makes me anxious (usually in the morning). I realized I was constantly pushing those thoughts away, trying to ignore them, and anxiety would hang out with me throughout the day. So now, I give myself 5-10 minutes in the morning where I’m free to think about all the things that make me anxious. I tell myself I can only focus on those things during that designated time period.
What I’ve learned:
The things that make me anxious today are usually the same things that made me yesterday.
Anxiety is clingy. If I start feeling anxious during the day, I just tell myself, “No. You can’t think about that until tomorrow morning.”
Important tip: Don’t do this before sleep! It’ll mess with your ability to fall asleep.
2. Deep Breathing
Honestly, I used to hate deep breathing. I thought it was pointless. When I’m at the peak of my anxiety and someone suggested I take deep breaths, it would actually piss me off. I knew I shouldn’t feel that way, but it just felt like the last thing I wanted to do. Over time, I’ve realized that deep breathing is a preventative measure, something you do to stop the peaks of anxiety before they even happen. I do deep breathing at night while I’m doing my skincare routine. It has helped me to incorporate deep breathing with a task I already do every day.
Why it works: Deep breathing activates your parasympathetic nervous system, which helps you feel calmer and more relaxed.
3. Mental Roadmaps. This might sound a little silly, but sometimes I have to literally navigate my anxiety with a mental roadmap. I use a simple method to break down what’s stressing me out and figure out what I really need to focus on. The roadmap technique have been especially helpful for me in distinguishing between “manageable anxiety” and “spiraling anxiety” (as far as I know I made up these terms). Manageable anxiety is the kind I can actually do something about, while spiraling anxiety is when my mind starts racing, and I catch myself imagining all these worst-case scenarios. It helps me clarify where to put my energy and what to let go of in the moment.
4. Yoga. Yoga is a well-known technique for managing anxiety, but I thought it was worth mentioning because it’s something I wouldn’t have expected to enjoy. I’ve always relied on running, something high-energy that tires me out, to help manage my anxiety. Yoga, like deep breathing exercises, seemed like a waste of time to calm those intense emotions. But when I started going once a week, it became my time to stretch, reset, and release all that built-up tension. It felt like another like a preventative measure. Yoga brings me a different type of relaxation than running does. Now, it’s my weekly ritual that helps me balance everything out.
These are the things that have helped me, but they might not be the same for you. Everyone’s different, and it takes time to figure out what works best. But don’t give up, keep trying and stay open to new ideas. A lot of these techniques didn’t seem like they’d work for me at first, and with a few, I had to adjust to make them fit into my life. Most importantly, be kind to yourself as you navigate this process.
Hearts.
