Top tips on dealing with anxiety | ft bloggers' advice

 Well hello to you my reader chums! Anxiety is something I have dealt with probably most of my life and got increasingly worse in my teenage years, and as a young adult. It's something I've always had to cope with but over the past five years, I've found myself overcoming it in more ways than one and being in a better place - and feel so grateful to have gotten to this point in my life.

Minnis Bay beach Kent

Anxiety still affects my daily life but now, I have more of an understanding of what triggers it off, how to cope with that, and look after myself. I've shared my experiences in an open letter about my anxiety and how I overcame it and overcame my travel anxiety too. 

Today, I wanted to share some tips from fellow bloggers on how they deal with their anxiety and what they do to overcome it. Everyone is different in how they deal with anxiety and the tips I've shared may not work for you, but hopefully having a variety of experiences means there is something in there that can help.

Here are some of the best tips from many lovely bloggers:

"I take anti-anxiety medication regularly and try not to miss doses. If there's something worrying me and I feel safe to do so I will seek reassurance. I try to be aware of when I'm living in the future or past and triggering an anxiety attack. I also have dead sea salt baths almost daily to help change how my body feels. Lastly, diffusing sweet orange and lemongrass essential oils helps lift my mood." - Athina from Black Pistachio

"I have suffered from Generalized Anxiety Disorder with a history of panic attacks for the last 20 years. 20 years is a long time and anxiety is different for everyone. My top tips for overcoming are medication (I take Paroxetine), therapy, and grounding techniques that involve the senses. So, the first grounding technique my therapist taught me is really helpful if I'm overthinking everything. Sometimes my mind feels manic with all the what-ifs and maybes. It helps to get out of my head to focus on reality and name one thing I can see (floor lamp), hear (traffic outside), touch (leather on my chair), and smell (coffee). Usually, that's enough to snap me out of it and help me focus on the present.

If not, another sensory grounding technique is to use a little bit of pain, snapping a rubber band on your wrist or holding an ice cube in your hand to force you to focus on the present and stop thinking of anxiety producing things. This method is not recommended for anyone with a self-harm history." - Jessica from Jessica Lasa.

"My tip is to see it as an unpractical, but effective way to release stress from the body. Although panic attacks and stuff like that feel horrible, afterward I often feel much calmer. By seeing it this way, I fear attacks less and they don’t happen that often anymore. It’s a positive spiral! " - Lisa from Mind and Body Intertwined.

" I suffer from anxiety and I do have some tips that do that help me out:
  1. Music
This has definitely been a life-saver for me. It really helps me with calming me down.

2. Spending time with myself
I suffer from social anxiety so being around large crowds can be scary for me. I tend to find a quiet space to sit or chill with a few of my friends." Anissa from Quiet Girl Blog.

"I've been dealing with anxiety ever since I was about 10 years old. Some things that help me are getting enough sleep and limiting my coffee intake to one cup of coffee a day instead of four. Yikes, I know. Caffeine is not anxiety's friend, unfortunately. Although, one of the main things that have been helping is positive affirmations! Saying statements such as "I am in charge of how I feel today." and "The past holds no power over me." Those statements are so powerful and can help calm an anxious mind." - Amanda from It's Amanda Burnett.

"I have suffered from anxiety for most of my teenage years and early adulthood. It got to the point where I was bedbound for days at a time, with a fear of leaving my room. I was critical about every aspect of myself, and it was crippling. In terms of coping with my mental state, it started with acknowledging the issue - I had to accept that this was not normal. I spoke to loved ones who had been at the bottom of the hole before, and step by step I worked my way back up. I also started blogging at 15 to force myself out of the dreaded comfort zone, and do you know what? It was not scary at all and it was the most effective remedy!" - Sophia from Sophia Patel.

"One tip that massively helped me was accepting my own anxiety. I found anxiety difficult growing up as I thought I was on my own in the way I felt. As I have got older my anxiety has eased through talking to other people who suffer, sharing experiences, and realising the way I am feeling is nothing to be ashamed of and much more normal than I originally thought. Breathing exercises are also a massive thing that helped my anxiety. Whenever I start to feel anxious I take myself away from others, sit down, put some music on and practice breathing deeply. I usually count my breathing as this helps me personally to take my mind off the anxiety I am feeling along with calming my body." - Rachel from Rach Talks Business.

"Well, exercise is definitely something that helps me. Before Corona, I used to go swimming 2-3 times a week for an hour and I benefitted so much from it. My moods were much better, my body felt better too. Ugh, can’t wait to be able to go back to it! But also lots of walks, in the fresh air. Whether it’s raining or not, it’s great to go simply for a walk - our friendships will love it too. 

Secondly, something I learned from therapy is to keep a diary of your “symptoms” and write if there is something that happened that could have contributed to it. And also write a solution on the side helps me if the situation happened again.

I am a little OCD, but I know that for me organising the day in the morning can help me massively. Write a list of all the things that you need to do without being unrealistic and go for it. Also, waking up early in the morning, like 7-7:30 helps me a lot! I used to wake at 4-5 for work and by 8pm I was dead. But waking at 7 makes such a difference!" - Fred from The Grumpy Olive.

"I’ve had problems with anxiety for the past 3 years and I’ve tried so many different things to try and help it, with varying levels of success. The thing that’s been really helping me lately is not to let myself overthink things too much in advance. When I am anxious about an event that is coming up, I often find myself visualising it, overthinking and worrying about it, and that makes me feel more anxious. But now, if I notice I am worrying about something in advance, I try to stop those thoughts and distract myself with something else or focus on what I am doing at that moment. Also, if I do start feeling anxious feelings, I try not to get worked up about them or let them affect me. I just carry on with what I am doing and try to focus on my current task instead of on the feelings. I also remind myself that those feelings always pass eventually!" - Sophie from Brilliant Day.

"One of the main triggers for my anxiety is attending school and social gatherings. Being in a big crowd can really set off my anxiety and give me panic attacks. In order to prevent this, I would usually avoid them, however, you obviously can't avoid school, and sometimes avoiding the situations can make them worse! For that reason, what I usually do is try and just tackle it! Although it may be hard to step in the door at first, once you're in, it will feel like an achievement and very rewarding. 

Another way of dealing with my anxiety is by using distractions and breathing techniques. These could be things such as square breathing, face-timing my friends, going out for a walk, etc. Just do something that you enjoy doing and makes you happy! One more tip I would like to share is having company and talking to people. Some people may find this difficult, however talking to others really lifts a weight off of my shoulder and gets me back on track! Why don't you give it a go? Talk to a friend, a family member, a professional, etc.

Overall, I would say when dealing with anxiety is not to avoid situations, try and tackle them in a sensible way. Note your triggers and things that will help you and do things that make you happy!" - Demi from Demi Le Huray.

"My advice would be to write down all of the things that are bothering me, almost like a brain dump. I then go away and do some exercise, usually either walking or yoga for an hour. I then go back and look at what I wrote and most of the time, when I read it outside, it seems trivial. I can usually talk myself out of those thoughts.
The main thing is that I get the thoughts out of my head and then do something calming and distracting. I tend to have a knot in my stomach and a tight chest which isn't good for everyone. My first priority is to get through that stage as quickly as possible. If all that fails, talking to somebody who also suffers from anxiety can really help because they know where you are coming from." - Kelly from Kelly Diane Report.

I hope you enjoyed this post. What other tips for anxiety do you have?

Thank you for reading <3

75 comments

  1. This is a great post! So many helpful things to try!

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  2. what a lovely post! It is really uplifting to hear motivational advice from those who have been there before! Also thanks for involving me!

    www.sophiapatel.co.uk

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  3. It was a great read to see what other people do to help with their anxiety, I will keep some of these in mind for when my mind goes into overdrive! You are great Della, and thank you for letting us share with you as well xx

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    1. Thank you so much for the loveliest comment! xx

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  4. This is such an amazing post! Thank you for letting me be a part of it. x

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  5. I absolutely love that you share advice from a range of different bloggers and writers! It is all about finding what works for you. Small things like music and waking up at the right time make a big difference to me. I also love dancing it off when I feel stressed. :)

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    1. Thank you so much! Oh, I love the idea of dancing it out x

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  6. This is a great post. I like how you shared ideas from different people because certain things work better for some than others.

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  7. I loved reading the tips of these other bloggers as well! I think some of them might really help me out sometime 😊

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  8. Great post- and such a good idea to include other bloggers' opinions on anxiety and dealing with their mental health :) thank you for sharing x

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  9. Thank you for sharing this post. I wouldn't say that I suffer with anxiety but I am definitely an anxious person. These tips are going to be really helpful. Right now, I'm finding it helpful to take one day at a time and not panic and overwhelm myself about the bigger picture

    Rosie

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    1. Thank you for your lovely comment! Yes, I think it's so important to take a day at a time xx

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  10. What a great post! It's great to read so many people's experiences. I think it's important to figure out what works for you and one of the ways to do that is to go to a psychologist. They have all the know-how.

    All the best, Michelle (michellesclutterbox.com)

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  11. This was such a nice collab and I love how everyone deals with things in such different ways !
    Loved this!

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  12. This is so nice. So good to see so many people discussing mental health so openly. Anxiety is certainly a tough one to cope with, I'm glad there are people, like you, helping out.

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  13. I used to use an elastic band on my wrist when I was a teenager! As an adult I find it need to combat the 'bad hormones' with positive ones from walking or exercising! I find them by go to techniques to cope with anxiety and stress!

    Katie | katieemmabeauty.com

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  14. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of this post. I've found reading everyone else's tips so helpful too.

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  15. This is such a great post, all this advice is gonna be so helpful to many. Thank you again for the opportunity of being apart of this! Loved reading everyone's tips, gonna be trying out some myself.

    TheQuietGirl
    www.quietgirlblog.com

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  16. These are some great tips. What a great idea ft other bloggers, it is important to understand there are a variety of coping strategies that may not all be for you. It is interesting to hear others experiences. Thank you for sharing.
    Lauren

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  17. These are such great tips for dealing with anxiety. Thanks so much for sharing!

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  18. Great tips, I love the input from other bloggers too. The one thing that works for me is challenging my thinking and trying to focus on logic rather than the ideas anxiety inflates. That and gradual exposure!

    Anika | chaptersofmay.com

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    1. Thank you lovely! Yes, that's a great thought xx

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  19. These are great advice. I will keep them in mind in case I have an anxiety attack which happens from time to time. Thank you:)

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  20. This is a really helpful post, thank you for sharing.

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  21. Some good advice here. I suffered with anxiety for a couple of years. I don't take medication anymore but I can relate and understand people that go suffer with anxiety everyday.

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  22. This post offers so much amazing advice to dealing with anxiety and all these blogger's give incredible advice! x

    Lucy | www.lucymary.co.uk

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  23. Thank you for sharing so many wonderful tips on anxiety! I suffer with anxiety occasionally myself so these will definitely come in handy to keep me grounded!

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    1. I really hope they help you, thanks for reading xx

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  24. Thank you for sharing, these are all great tips on dealing with anxiety from other bloggers that have been going through anxiety

    Nic | Nic's Adventures & Bakes

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  25. Such a great post! As someone who has had anxiety for almost 10 years, I definitely agree with some of these suggestions and it's always nice to hear other people's coping mechanisms :)

    Katy | www.katystephenson.com

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  26. These are some wonderful tips on dealing with anxiety, for me I like to take walks and listen to music or read :) Great post

    Mel 🌙 | Moonlight Mel

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  27. This is such a great post and some really helpful tips on dealing with anxiety. Having some tips and advice from other bloggers is so helpful too! Thanks for sharing!

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  28. Such an amazing post. It's so nice to see how many people were willing to share bits of their history with anxiety and how they deal with it. I also like to journal or snuggle up with my cats when I start feeling that a panic attack is coming on

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  29. This is such a great post and you have included some great tips on dealing with anxiety.

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  30. This is such a great post that will be so helpful for anyone trying to deal with anxiety! I've never really been someone who suffers from anxiety but I've definitely had moments during lockdown that have affected me. Music is my go-to way to help deal with it! x

    https://www.femaleoriginal.com

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  31. Awesome post with life learning tips, I love the idea of yoga and
    doing what you love to reduce anxiety..

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  32. I love the variety of tips in this post! I've always found that having a good sleeping routine helps me so much when I have periods of feeling anxiety. Thanks for sharing x

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  33. Some amazing tips here! Thank you so much for sharing this was a really lovely post and interesting for someone like me who does not know much on the topic.

    Amber | https://theunpredictedpage.com

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  34. Such a lovely post! I actually didn't experience anxiety till I was in my early 20's! I've found that mindful breathing has helped me a lot with my anxiety.Thanks for sharing these lovely blogger's advice too! x

    www.lynnmumbingmejia.com

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  35. It is really good to hear how others cope with anxiety. This post has given me a few ideas of things to try when I feel anxiety creeping in.

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  36. I love that bloggers came together to give their thoughts about anxiety. Totally agree with these - it highlights that people are not alone with dealing with anxiety. It's hard and thankfully there are resources to help. So important to speak out. Thank you for sharing this collection

    Nancy ✨ mdrnminimalists.com

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    1. Me too! Thank you so much for your lovely comment x

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  37. I enjoyed this post.These are some very good tips for treating anxiety.
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  38. Thank you so much for collect and share all of these advices. They can be very helpful.

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  39. Thank you for sharing this post! You are helping so many, including myself.

    xo Erica

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  40. I have struggled to manage anxiety for a few years, some days are more overwhelming and harder to deal with than others. There are some fab tips to help cope and manage anxiety here, thank you for sharing them.

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