Anxiety can show up at the worst times. It’s that feeling you get that makes everything seem like it’s too much to handle. It makes you just want to give up and curl up in bed all day or maybe it causes you to panic in a stressful situation. You might miss out on opportunities because you were too overwhelmed with anxiety.
Don’t let your anxiety get the better of you. If you don’t do anything about it, your anxiety can start to affect your day to day life. Here are 12 things to do when you start to feel overwhelmed with anxiety.
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1. Breathe
The first thing you should do when you start feeling anxious is to take a deep breathe and let it out. Do this a couple more times. Maybe imagine that you’re letting in positive energy and breathing out the negative energy. Or imagine being somewhere peaceful like the beach or a lake. Close your eyes and a take a moment to just be and realize that you are okay. You are still breathing. Feel calm. Feel peace.
2. Take a bath
Let your stress and anxiety melt away while you enjoy a relaxing bath. The warm water, calming scents and just having some time for yourself all make for a great way to reduce your anxiety and give yourself some much deserved relaxation and pampering.
Go all out! Get bubble bath, candles, a bath bomb, essential oils, Epson salt and throw on some music! Maybe even get yourself a glass of wine from the California Wine Club or warm tea and leave it on the side.
Give yourself at least 20 minutes of relaxing time if you can. Fill the tub as much as you can and don’t be shy with the products. A scented bath bomb is usually all you need for a relaxing bath but you can always add a little extra. Plus they are very affordable!
3. Journal
When you have a lot of thoughts and worries floating around your head it’s a tough place to be, especially if you feel like you have no one to talk to. Journaling can help get your thoughts out of your head and onto something where you can reflect on them and maybe see things from a new perspective.
When you journal it’s judgment free. As long as it’s a private journal, you can say anything you want and you don’t have to worry about hurting someone’s feelings or being embarrassed. Journaling can actually be better than talking to someone because you can just be you and be free. When you talk to someone about your problems, you might worry that they’ll judge you so you don’t always say what you really want to say or you’ll leave out details. When you journal, it’s just you and your words.
4. Hug someone
Hugs are powerful and sometimes a hug from a friend or loved one can make you feel connected, comforted and maybe even safe. When you hug another person you feel their warmth and sometimes even love.
Scientifically speaking, when you hug someone hormones like Oxycontin get released which helps you feel less stressed and anxious. Hugging someone on a daily basis is good for your health even if all it does is give you a few positive emotions throughout the day. That’s better than none or negative ones.
And it’s just nice knowing that someone cares.
5. Make a list
You can become anxious when you feel like you have a lot to do. You can start to worry about tons of different things like work, family, money, errands and even what you are going to make for dinner. It all becomes overwhelming and you just feel like you have too much going on at once.
Once you make a list, you’ll realize that you have a lot less stuff to get done than you thought and a lot of it probably is pretty easy to accomplish. It just feels like you have so much going on when it’s all in your head floating around, but when you organize it on paper, a computer screen or a dry erase board, you are able to see what you are worried about in a simple format and it might not seem so bad and overwhelming.
6. Make plans
What are you feeling anxious about? Is something coming up that you’re worried about? Or is it just day to day life?
Making a plan can help you to feel a little more in control for the moment. Plans don’t always work out, but they sometimes do and it’s nice to have a plan in place as a guideline. It can make you feel better and give you some direction on what to do.
If you are feeling anxiety about an upcoming job interview, then try to plan out some time before the interview that will help you feel better. Maybe plan some time to practice the night before, give yourself plenty of time in the morning to get ready and leave early to be on time. Sure, something could happen that will ruin your plan, but at least you have a guideline. Yeah, you might wake up late and the kids might be feeling sick, but you can still basically stick to your plan and do your best. Maybe you can’t make a nice breakfast anymore, but you can still grab an energy bar and orange juice. You can still leave early so you’re on time or if not, you can call that you are running behind schedule and on your way. Also check out this article 7 Ways to Prepare for a Job Interview for more tips.
Also making a plan B is usually a good idea and can help you to feel better if your first plan doesn’t work out, which happens a lot to us humans.
The key is to take the challenges as they come and adjust your plan, but never the goal.
“If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans” – Woody Allen
7. Talk about it
Keeping your feelings bottled up inside might seem like a safe and good idea, but in the long run it will only cause you harm. If you are worried about something and just keep it to yourself, then how can anyone help you? And even if no one can help you with the issue, sometimes just talking about it helps a bit.
Usually when people have a problem they call their family and friends and if you have good people in your life who are willing to listen, then definitely call them. Not everyone has that though. People who will be good listeners can come to you in the most unexpected ways if you are open to it. Maybe opening up to a co-worker will surprise you on how much you actually have in common? Or try saying more than just “hi” to your neighbor, they might be experiencing a similar issue.
And if you still feel like you have no one to talk to there are always professionals and there is no shame in that. Many people actually enjoy going to a counselling session because it allows them to talk about their life for an entire hour. The focus is all on you and that’s actually a really nice thing because it can help you realize that things might not be all that overwhelming and you might be able to think of new solutions to problems that seemed impossible before.
Quiz: Are the People You Spend Your Time with Good for You?
8. Yoga
Yoga is a great way to relieve stress and anxiety while loosening up and strengthening your body. Sometimes your body will literally feel tense with all the anxiety and stress you are feeling and doing just 20 – 60 minutes of yoga can make a difference.
Yoga focuses on calm, peace and the connection between your mind and body. You’ll spend some time being centered and grounded in your postures which correlates to your life. If you feel centered and grounded in your life then you’ll feel less anxiety because it encourages other good feelings like strength, power, focus and balance. If you feel strong in your core then you can be strong in the rest of your life.
If you aren’t sure how to practice yoga, you can find tons of great instructors on YouTube. One of my personal favorites I recommend is Yoga With Adriene. You can also find yoga classes at many gyms or yoga studios.
All you need for yoga is a mat. There are plenty of other useful items such as blocks, straps and more, but you don’t always need all that, especially when you’re just starting out. Extra thick mats are the best, especially for new people who aren’t used to some of the postures of if you are practicing on a hard floor. Check out my personal favorite extra thick mat.
9. Pray
The best person to talk to about your problems is God. Whether you believe in God or not, humans have a habit of turning to God when there is no where left to turn and things are out of their control. Almost everyone has prayed at some point in their life.
Sometimes things are just beyond your control and no matter what you do it’s just not up to you anymore. People get sick and sometimes all you can do is hope and pray. Bad things happen all the time and it sucks and sometimes it’s no one’s fault and it’s out of your control.
Believing in God gives you peace that you can’t find anywhere else. Religion isn’t always as important as your relationship with God. Religion is more about the rituals, traditions, and cultures while a relationship is between you and God. If you talk to God and God talks to you in whatever way works for you, that’s really what’s important. Every person is unique and each experience is different. Pick up your Bible and see what God has to say to you.
Quiz: Is God is Saying Yes, No or Wait?
10. Go for a walk
We all know that exercise is a great way to reduce anxiety, but you don’t even really need to do anything all that intense. Just going for a nice long walk can actually be better for you than spending hours in a gym. Get outside and walk in the fresh air. Being on a treadmill doesn’t have the same effects as being outside does.
Depending on where you live, you might be able to take a walk in a beautiful area. Maybe at a local park, an easy hiking trail, or along the beach. Even your neighborhood is sometimes more beautiful than you give it credit for. If you have a dog they would probably love to go with you so you have some company and feel safer on your walk (depending on your dog). Soak in the beauty of nature and the fresh air.
11. Let it go
Sometimes the best thing to do is nothing at all. Each situation is unique but sometimes you don’t know what to do or there isn’t anything you can do. Sometimes the best thing to do is to let go and let God deal with it. Things have a way of working out.
Letting go is easier said than done, especially if you are experiencing a lot of anxiety over the issue. Try distracting yourself with a project or hobby. Maybe fix up something in your home or start writing that book you keep talking about. You can also try doing something simple like cleaning your kitchen, reading a book or watching a movie. Anything to keep your mind off your anxiety in a healthy way.
Quiz: What Do You Need to Let Go of to Accomplish Your Goal?
12. Solve the problem
The best thing to stop your anxiety is to solve the problem. If you don’t have to deal with the problem anymore then you won’t have to be anxious about it anymore.
If there is more than one problem or your whole life makes you feel anxious, then take it one step or problem at a time. Solve one issue and then move on to the next. If you get stuck on an issue, no problem, just move on and go back to it later. Sometimes by then the problem has worked itself out or you might have had enough time to think of a new solution.
Once you solve the problem for good, then you can move on with your life. The thing about life is there will always be problems that will cause us stress and anxiety. We don’t get to always chose the problems we face but we do get to choose how we face those problems. Anxiety happens to everyone but don’t let it take over your life. Take control of your anxiety instead of letting it control you.
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I’m very stress and nervous