If you are an anxious overthinker, then you know that living with anxiety and trying to manage it is an everyday battle. But it isn’t always the same because some days are better and some are a little bit worse.
What should you do on those bad days? How can you keep yourself busy and remain in charge of your anxiety? Here are 10 small steps you can take to successfully avoid or minimize your anxiety attack.
1. Breathe
When anxiety kicks in, it doesn’t only impact you on an emotional and psychological level. What many people don’t know is that an anxiety attack has an effect on your entire body.
And that is exactly why it is crucial for you not to forget how to breathe properly. Force yourself to take deep breaths because that will calm your heart rate and it will calm your thoughts as well.
2. Meditate
If breathing properly hasn’t calmed you, maybe it’s time you start with some meditation. At first, you won’t be able to shut down your negative thoughts and you’ll think they are overwhelming for you to handle but with time, you’ll succeed.
Meditation helps you focus on healing yourself and nothing else. It gives you a chance to detach from your surroundings for a moment and that is exactly what you need on a bad anxiety day.
3. Physical activity
For some people, the key to chasing anxiety away is tiring their body to the extent where their mind loses the strength to think negatively as well. And this is something you definitely should try.
Engage in some physical activity. Exercise, hit the gym or just go for a walk. This is a trick you play on your body—you take away all of its energy and you redirect it to exactly where you want.
4. Put some music on
Science has proven that music has a therapeutic effect and it can also help you on your bad anxiety day. Do you feel like listening to calm, soothing music which will help you relax? Or do you need something motivating to give you back the spiritual strength you desperately need?
It doesn’t matter—listen to whatever suits you best at that moment. But I mean really listen to music. Don’t let it play in the background while you are doing some things you think are more important now. No, close your eyes and let all of your senses feel the rhythm.
5. Take a break
You are at work, working on an important project or you are studying for an exam or maybe you are running some errands that can’t wait.
Stop. Just stop and take a break. There is nothing more important than your mental health and it’s time you start putting it first.
Don’t get me wrong—I am not telling you to become a professional procrastinator. But once you feel like your anxiety is about to kick in, take a moment for yourself and let go of everything you’ve been doing.
6. Think of your happy place
What has been the happiest moment in your life so far? Where did you feel the best about yourself, as if you didn’t have a single worry on your mind?
When you are feeling down, go back to that moment. Let the moment sink in and chase away all of that bad energy. Have faith that you’ll be happy like that again.
7. Pet an animal or play with children
Without even being aware of it, we absorb other people’s energies and vibrations and they affect our mood and emotional state. So, if you are surrounded by toxic and negative people, it is natural for your anxiety to worsen. On the other hand, if you are surrounded by optimism, you’ll connect with it and you’ll start to feel better in no time.
And what better to send you the positive vibes you need than pets and children.
8. Five senses technique
Have you ever heard about the five senses technique, which helps you get back on track when you feel like you are losing touch with reality? It is a technique in which you name five things you can see, four things you can feel, three you can hear, two you can smell and one you can taste.
At first glance, this might seem like the last thing that might help you on your bad anxiety day but trust me—it works like a charm.
9. Please yourself
Are you hungry? Or do you want to sleep? Do you feel like just lying down doing nothing? Or would you prefer to run your heart out?
Please yourself and do what your body wants. Of course, this doesn’t mean that you can allow anxiety to take complete control over you. It means that you’ve accepted it and that you are looking for successful ways to fight it.
10. Think positively
Okay, so the first thing everyone who knows you are struggling with anxiety will tell you to do is to think positively and to be optimistic. But how are you actually supposed to do that when there are millions of negative things running through your head at each moment?
There are a million tips and tricks for reprogramming your brain and the first one is to think about the good things you’ve achieved. Stand in front of the mirror and tell yourself how beautiful and smart you are. Tell yourself that you are enough, strong and powerful. Say it out loud and repeat it until you start believing in those words.
Remember, you’ve fought with worse moments. And you’ve won each and every time. You survived and here you are.
So what is the difference this time? The moment will pass and things will be better.
