10 Ways To Manage Your Anxiety
Life is hard. Anxiety is real. Here’s how you can push through your anxious thoughts and feelings.
Since the pandemic hit last year, I think we all have struggled with anxiety. Whether it’s due to internal struggles, like worrying about your personal situation, or fear about what is happening around us. It’s a heavy load to carry, and sometimes it feels unbearable.
I started going to therapy in September 2019, and since then I’ve realized that I’ve always struggled with anxiety. As a child and in high school, I was often worried about my grades and affording college. In college, I was often worried about finding the right company to start my career. As an adult, I often worry about managing my life. And now that we’re still in a global pandemic and a systematic revolution with racism coming to light, there feels like there’s so much that’s out of my control, which sometimes makes me anxious.
Let me know if you can relate!
April is Stress Awareness Month, so I wanted to share ten self-care practices that I use to manage my anxiety.
1. Pray
Plug into the source by tapping into a higher power. Pray specific prayers that speak to your worries and have faith that God is orchestrating everything for your good behind the scenes.
2. Practice positive affirmations
The words we say and the thoughts we think shape our reality. The Law of Attraction is a universal law that simply says, “like attracts like.” We manifest people and experiences into our life based on our words, thoughts and actions. Positive affirmations are powerful because you can literally speak what you seek. Even if it isn’t your reality at the moment, through repetition you can attract it into your life.
You can look online for some affirmations or create your own. But if you want inspirational vitamins crafted with love and good intentions by yours truly, get a deck of my Souly Serene Positive Affirmations Cards. I created these to help you maintain a state of inner peace despite external chaos. I hope they help you on your journey!
3. Meditate
Sometimes our anxious thoughts are running rampant in our minds. Ease them through stillness. I’m not an expert at meditation, and I am still learning how to incorporate it into my care practice. But I see the difference in my day when I take a few moments for myself.
I listen to YouTube videos during my morning meditations, but I’ve heard great things about apps like Calm and Balance, and the Deepak Chopra app. However you practice meditation, just make sure you do it. The answers we seek are often already inside of us, we just have to quiet ourselves in order to hear them.
4. Yoga
Continuing the conversation about the importance of stillness -- yoga has worked wonders for my anxiety. It’s just you and the mat. No judgment. No shame. No guilt. I love that you can just be.
Studies have shown that certain yoga postures, like “child pose” and “camel pose” can open up your heart and unblock built-up emotions. The slow movements allow you to reflect on what’s giving you anxiety and how you can push through the hold it’s having on your life.
5. Get some rest
Even when your to-do list feels overwhelming or you feel like you don’t have time to take a break, you should rest. Trying to push through all of the time will only leave you feeling more anxious. Take a nap my friend! And then get back to life.
6. Journaling
This is one of my favorite ways to manage my anxiety. There’s so much swarming in my head at any given moment, and journaling presents an opportunity to get everything out on paper. I love doing “Morning Pages,” where you write three pages of stream of consciousness writing. So pretty much you just write whatever comes to mind until you’re done with the three pages. In this practice, I’ve often learned about the root of what has caused me anxiety and identified ways to ease the worry. But that is a commitment, not gonna lie! So if that doesn’t sound up your alley, I’d encourage you to find a few journaling prompts online, like these from Lavendaire.
7. Audio journaling
Use the voice note feature on your phone to express how you’re feeling. Get the heavy load off of your chest by just talking to yourself. I used to audio journal on the way to work, but now that I work from home, sometimes I take a drive and vent.
8. Talking to someone you trust
Verbally expressing your feelings is so important. If you have someone that you can speak honestly with and who has your best interest at heart, then you should open up. Tell them what’s been making you feel anxious.
9. Planning / Brain dump
Sometimes there is so much information swarming around in our heads, that it causes us to worry. It’s so helpful to get everything out on paper so you can see it all in one place. The brain dump doesn’t need to be pretty or organized, you just need to get it out of your head.
Take it a step further and write “what is making me anxious right now and what’s one thing I can do to move forward.”
Simply acknowledge your anxiety triggers and jot down one baby step you can make.
10. Watch inspirational YouTubers
The content we consume can add to, or ease our anxiety. I love watching inspirational content that lifts my spirits from creators like Hindz and Lavendaire.
BONUS
Go to therapy
I have also learned to manage my anxiety through therapy. It has truly transformed my life and I highly recommend you speak to someone clinically trained to help you through the mental challenges through life.
Here are a few databases to find a therapist in your area:
Those are my top ten go-to ways to manage my anxiety!
What are some of your self-care practices when you start to get anxious feelings and thoughts?