Motivation logo

12 Essential Ways to Calm Your Anxiety

A list of twelve essential ways to calm anxiety.

By Bakir DjulichPublished 2 years ago 6 min read
Like
12 Essential Ways to Calm Your Anxiety
Photo by Christopher Ott on Unsplash

Anxiety can be tough to handle if you don’t know-how. The feelings of restlessness and nervousness can cause more harm than good, but luckily, there are several ways that you can calm yourself down. Keep on reading for 12 important ways to help you deal with your anxiety.

1. Focus on Your Breathing

One great way to start calming yourself is by focusing on your breathing. It sounds so simple, but this technique works wonders in helping you relax. Try taking slow and deep breaths as much as possible, focusing all of your attention on inhaling and exhaling as calmly as possible. If your mind begins wandering into other thoughts, gently bring it back to focusing solely on your breath. This can be an extremely effective way to ease your anxiety and help you feel more in control.

2. Identify Your Anxious Thoughts

A lot of the time, our anxiety is caused by our thoughts. We tend to overthink things and magnify certain situations, leading to feeling anxious. A helpful tip is to try and identify these anxious thoughts whenever they occur. Once you recognize them, you can start working on challenging and refuting them. For example, if you’re thinking, “I’m going to fail this test,” try and tell yourself, “I have studied hard and prepared for this test.” You can begin to re-wire your thought patterns and replace your anxious thoughts with more positive ones.

3. Write Down Your Worrying Thoughts

An excellent way to ease the intensity of your anxiety is by writing down all of your feelings in a journal or notebook. This gives you a chance to organize your thoughts on paper instead of just thinking around and about them in your head. Once they are written down, you might see that some worries start to fade away, rather than hanging over you like clouds filled with rain. Looking at them this way can make it easier for you to pinpoint the things causing your anxiety and get rid of what’s causing it. It also allows you extra time and space to focus on thinking about things that make you happy and content.

4. Take a Relaxing Shower or Bath

Another great way to calm down when feeling anxious is to take a relaxing shower or bath. This can help ease your muscles and help you feel more at ease mentally. Add some soothing aromatherapy, or add a few drops of lavender oil into your bathtub to create an even more calming environment. This can be the perfect way to unwind after a long day and de-stress before bedtime.

5. Exercise Regularly

You might not feel like it when you’re feeling anxious, but exercise is one of the best ways to relieve stress and tension. It helps to release endorphins, which have mood-boosting and pain-relieving properties. As little as 30 minutes of exercise each day can help improve your mental health and reduce feelings of anxiety.

6. Get Plenty of Sleep

It’s essential to get enough sleep when you’re feeling anxious because it can help improve your mood and energy levels. Most people need around 7-8 hours of sleep every night, but this may vary depending on the person. If you find it difficult to fall asleep at night, you can try a few things, such as reading or taking a warm bath before bed. Creating a regular sleep schedule can also help get a good night’s rest.

7. Practice Mindfulness and Meditation

Another great way to help you deal with your anxiety is practicing mindfulness and meditation. These techniques can help improve your mood, reduce stress levels, lower blood pressure, and improve mental clarity. The best part about them is that they’re entirely free to do and are all available right at your fingertips! Try downloading an app, listening to a guided meditation, or checking out some online resources for more information on practicing mindfulness or meditation.

8. Limit Your Caffeine Intake

If you regularly drink coffee or energy drinks, it might be a good idea to reduce the amount that you consume when you’re feeling anxious. This is because caffeine increases adrenaline production, which can make anxiety worse. Try and stick to decaffeinated beverages or limit yourself to 1-2 cups of coffee per day.

9. Connect with Friends or Family

Spending time with loved ones is a great way to reduce feelings of loneliness, isolation, and anxiety. When you’re feeling anxious, reach out to someone you trust and spend some time talking things through with them. They might be able to offer some helpful advice or just provide a shoulder to cry on. Suppose you don’t feel comfortable talking about your anxiety with anyone you know. In that case, there are also plenty of helplines and online support groups available where you can speak to someone anonymously about how you’re feeling.

10. Avoid Alcohol and Drugs

It’s best to avoid alcohol and drugs when you’re feeling anxious, as they can worsen your symptoms. Alcohol is a depressant and can increase feelings of sadness, low mood, and anxiety. Drugs can also have a similar effect and can be addictive, leading to more problems down the line. If you’re struggling to cope without alcohol or drugs, it might be time to seek professional help.

11. Challenge Your Negative Thoughts

A lot of the time, anxiety is caused by negative thinking patterns. It’s important to challenge these thoughts when they occur so that you don’t spiral into a cycle of stress and worry. One way to do this is by asking yourself whether there’s any evidence to support the negative thought. For example, if you’re anxious about an upcoming test, remind yourself of all the times that you’ve completed a trial in the past. If you can’t think of any evidence to refute the thought, try and come up with a more positive or realistic alternative.

12. Seek Professional Help

If you find that your anxiety is starting to impact your life significantly, it might be time to seek professional help. This can be especially helpful if you’ve tried all of the self-help techniques mentioned above but haven’t seen any improvement. A therapist or counselor can help you understand your anxiety better and develop strategies for dealing with it.

Anxiety is a widespread problem for people worldwide, but there are plenty of things that you can do to help reduce your symptoms. By trying out some of the self-help techniques outlined above and seeking professional advice when needed, you will hopefully manage your anxiety more effectively.

I hope you find these tips useful and helpful. If you would like to read some of my most recent work, feel free to check out the reports I did on emoji statistics and just chatting statistics.

healing
Like

About the Creator

Bakir Djulich

Marketing specialist at www.amraandelma.com | NFT/Crypto/Metaverse enthusiast | Avid gamer

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.