Helpful Anxiety Relief Tips!
I have struggled with anxiety my entire life. From a young age I would give myself stomachaches from holding my stress in my stomach. I clenched my teeth, leading to dental problems. I had consistent migraines from overthinking. These health problems led to worse anxiety, which spiraled the more I got older. I was entirely unable to speak to strangers, I wouldn’t sleep the night before anything remotely important, I worried about each and every little thing I lacked control over, and I constantly had negative thoughts. I didn’t understand or know the benefits of psychology or therapy until I was in college, and only then did I become able to manage things better. Therapy is a really important way to manage out-of-control anxiety- it will teach you tips you can use for a lifetime. For those who maybe struggle with mild anxiety and may not need a full therapeutic approach, here are some strategies I have found to be helpful that you could try!
First, if I am stressed and worried about a bunch of different things, my brain likes to bounce from item to item until I feel too overwhelmed to do anything. I have noticed that if I were to take one minute and write all of the different things down, usually I am left with only about five items that I need to take care of. Once I have them written and out of my head, I no longer feel any anxiety towards them and I am able to handle them more efficiently. I cross them off my list once I complete them, which calms me down even more. Things tend to get bigger in our heads than they actually are, increasing our worry and stress. Seeing how small they are on paper relieves our brains and makes things manageable.
Second, I have found that taking away notifications on devices when I am not actively at work relives a lot of anxiety as well. I used to have notifications turned on for all four of my email addresses, all social media apps, and other work related applications. Because of this, my phone went off constantly. I would take a shower and then rush over to my phone to find 20 new notifications, causing me to begin working while in the middle of another task because I couldn’t stop myself. I would feel a strong need to take care of any notification as soon as I got it or I would feel anxiety relating to the impending work, so I began working sporadically almost constantly, no matter what else I was doing to try and relieve that anxiety. I eventually realized that by turning off all notifications past work hours that I was able to relax in the evenings and on weekends because I was not aware of the work piling up, and I could attend to my duties when I was supposed to. It’s easy to let our jobs overwhelm us, but important that we do not let them do so.
Finally, engage in regular self care! I take one bubble bath per week and plan it in advance so that I can look forward to it and plan around it. I also try to spend time daily outside, usually a brief walk with my family to relieve stress and get a small amount of exercise. I try to make sure that I eat or drink something everyday that makes me happy, whether it’s a Dr. Pepper or a cookie. I also plan time weekly to watch a movie I like, read a book, or go on a hike. Self care doesn’t have to mean a lot of time daily or expensive activities- little bits help and count.
Trust me, it is a work in progress and it never fully goes away. Anxiety is something we all feel from time to time to some degree, but we all have the power to relieve it a little bit. Some people need therapy and medication in order to stay on top of it, some just need mindful strategies like the ones above in order to stay ahead of its consequences.
Kyndal Sims
Birch Psychology