Well hello to you my reader chums! Anxiety affects everyone in different ways. Whether it's general worrying or an anxiety disorder, awareness of this mental health condition has grown more in recent years. I struggle with anxiety and in the moments where there are no triggers and I wake up anxious, these can be the hardest mental health days to get through. With this post, I wanted to share my best advice on what to do when you're feeling anxious.
Whether you're an anxious person or feeling anxious lately, here are 5 things to do when you're feeling anxious.
Distract yourself
Anxiety can leave you not wanting to do anything or wanting to do everything at once; it comes in different waves. The number 1 thing I've always been taught and practised is to distract yourself when feeling anxious. This can be one of the trickiest things to do at the moment where anxiety is at its peak.
However, this makes it the perfect moment to switch on a TV programme, listen to a podcast or your favourite album as it'll give you that quick 'thing' to focus on. Over the course of watching the programme or listening to songs, your mind will slowly come out of that state as its concentrating on something else. You could also read a book, watch your favourite vloggers, test out new makeup looks or any activity that will move your focus.
Go on a long walk with blaring music
A little bit of exercise and fresh air can never hurt anyone. Getting out of the house and walking through your local park, beach or tucked away country lanes can be a blessing when you're feeling anxious. It allows you to soak in the natural surroundings and feel that bit calmer. I always put on a super upbeat album like 'The Greatest Showman' or sassy Demi Lovato at top volume to block out all the bad thoughts and enjoy the walk.
Focus on something you love
We all have hobbies and when you're feeling anxious, getting stuck into something you love to do can always make you feel a little bit better. My favourite things to do are writing, reading and researching holidays. Whether yours is taking part in a sport, painting, shopping, cooking or like me writing, try your best to get stuck in.
Make new plans
With my anxiety, having things to look forward to or knowing plans are set in stone will always ease things. Having uncertainty can sometimes trigger my anxiety and this is why I love making plans.
Whether it's planning your next holiday (pretty much what I spend half my life doing), arranging your next gal meet up, thinking about your other halves birthday celebration or crafting Christmas presents, there's plenty of different ways to both tick things off your to-do list and feel a little bit better.
Get your emotions down on paper
Talking is one type of therapy, but there are other ways to get your emotions out. This can be writing them down on a piece of paper to get the weight off your shoulders, writing a daily journal or even drawing. Try out a variety of different methods and see which works best for you. Then, when the anxious day hits, you can put it into practice.
I hope you enjoyed this post! What are your best things to do when you're feeling anxious?
Thank you for reading <3
I suffer from anxiety a LOT! Surprisingly, so far, I have only tried one out of the five thing that could help - distracting myself. Two of the four other things to do I definitely plan to try: Focusing on things I love, and writing things down. I think those will help me a lot. The long walks would be painful, so I probably won't unless I get better. The making new plans would take courage although I know it may well help.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great ideas for helping with anxiety!
My go to for calming my anxiety has often been to focus on a repetitive task, or to watch NetFlix, or if it's really bad, crawl under the covers, even though I know I'd feel better getting things done. Maybe working on a new post? I haven't done one since October.
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These tips are amazing! I always try to write down everything I'm feeling or I just distract myself by listening to music or watching a movie/TV show. Lovely blog post, Della!😊✨
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Shirley | https://shirleycuypes.blogspot.be
These are some super helpful tips! I try to distract myself as much as possible when I start feeling anxious, while doing things that occupy my mind - sudoku helps me a LOT!
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thedecemberdame.com
I definitely feel the first one a lot, especially with writing. I get so many ideas and then I plan when I'm going to write and schedule things but don't end up doing them and then get anxious about it. I recently got a new bullet journal so would love to try out writing everything down!
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Such helpful tips! I personally love to meditate when I'm feeling anxious and need to be in silence cause sound is a big trigger for me!
ReplyDeleteAs someone who suffers with anxiety too, I find that music helps to calm me sooo much and fresh air too. Such a helpful post xx
ReplyDeleteI just love this post and it has come to me at the perfect time, I'm mega struggling at the moment, I'll give some of your tips a go!xxxx
ReplyDeleteLove these tips, will definitely try them out next time things get to overwhelming.
ReplyDeleteSophie xxx | eyesofowls.org