8 Coping Mechanisms for Anxiety Management

Depression has been an indispensable part of my life for the last six years. I was diagnosed with this mental illness when I was 21, and I’ve been living with it ever since. It’s not as horrifying as it may sound: yes, it’s a challenge, and yes, it gets emotionally tricky at times. But I consider myself to be lucky and well-cared for because I recognized this issue right away, sought help, received a piece of proper advice and treatment, and overall has been doing quite well most of the time.

Having that said, depression isn’t the only “new friend” I have acquired when barely in my twenties. Soon enough, I started experiencing anxiety, which first was unexplainable, unanticipated and scary. I had no other choice but to learn how to manage it, and today I would like to share my coping mechanisms with you. Some of them are remarkably simple, while others are more complex.

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor or a medical specialist of any kind, so please remember this is about my personal experience. This is not a medical advice as such should be discussed with a physician.

Breathing

As simple as it sounds, breathing is probably the most beneficial technique I can use on the spot. Anxiety does not wait for an invitation — it can happen at any point, regardless of my location, state of mind and time. If I’m at home and capable of spending an extended period calming down and dealing with a sudden anxiety attack — perfect! But the absolute majority of the time, I would be working, running errands, driving, communicating with people and doing many other things.

There are numerous breathing techniques. I would like to recommend two that work for me personally: boxed breathing and deep breathing.

Boxed Breathing (also known as square breathing and four-square breathing)

My physician suggested this technique to me, and it can do wonders for my anxiety. Here’s how to complete this exercise: I focus on what’s in front of me (or at least try my best to do so, as my concertation might be non-existent during the anxiety attack), exhale, take a deep breath, hold it in, slowly count till four — and fully exhale. I do it again, and again, and again. When exhaling, I make sure to release the air from my lungs and abdomen. There is an option of breathing through the nose or month; while my doctor suggested the first option, I noticed that breathing through my mouth helps me more (but everyone is different).

The idea behind this method is to “trap” the breath in a “box” while also clearing the lungs. Boxed breathing is a great technique to use when struggling with depression, anxiety, PTSD and other issues, as it helps to calm down and normalize the blood pressure. More details about the boxed breathing can be found on this website.

Deep Breathing

It is exactly what it sounds like. Taking deep breathes helps me regain the feeling of calm, reduce stress, and manage emotions. There are countless different ways to practice deep breathing, but I will share the one that worked well for me: the 4–7–8 method.

The algorithm is as follows:

1. Exhale to release the air from the lungs.
2. Take a quiet breath through the nose that lasts 4 seconds.
3. Hold the breath in for 7 seconds.
4. Slowly exhale for 8 seconds.

The exercise should be done 4–5 times, and it’s a good idea to practice deep breathing multiple times a day. This source is useful for obtaining more details about this method. Some people use phone apps to complete this exercise, but it’s not a necessity, as the instructions are quite simple to follow on my own.

Meditation

A countless number of people told me to start practicing meditation over the years, and it was even before I started having anxiety issues. Every wellness source I checked, every health-related online magazine I read — someone described the life-changing benefits of meditation. Well, now I’m one of those people as well! Because it keeps helping me every single day.

Similarly to breathing, there are numberless ways to meditate. I practice mindfulness meditation, and also the body scan (progressive relaxation) meditation. It would take me an entire day to type out a detailed guide about all the methods out there, so I have a few sources to read up on.

16 types of meditation (this is a link for a paid app, but there’s no to install it or pay for it — there is an outline of many meditation methods).

7 types of meditation (includes the two I practice).

Tips on how to meditate.

Overview of 23 meditation techniques.

Guided Meditation and Meditative Music

These two are the extension of the previous coping strategy. The difference is that it involves the sound, and guided meditation also entails the experience of a guide.

Youtube has hundreds of videos of guided meditation experiences, so I can also find the type I’m interested in. I recommend searching for “Guided meditation” — and see what the options are. The one I usually go for is “Guided meditation for anxiety” and “Guided meditation for positive energy,” but there are a ton of options. My favourite, guided meditation experience is probably this one.

The same concept applies to meditation music — Youtube is a goldmine! Not to mention, it’s free. I can choose what’s to my liking:

1. Sounds of nature.
2. Sounds of the ocean (and also river/water/waterfall).
3. Sounds of birds.
4. Sounds of forest.
5. Sounds of whales.

(and anything else I come up with that day).

I also have a Spotify subscription, and it features a good deal of meditation channels with marvelous music. So, if you have the subscription as well — make sure to search.

Using Your Imagination: Finding a Happy Place

For some of the readers, it might seem like common sense. We use our imagination all day, every day! That’s true, but the technique I use is to take myself to a calm, stress-free and happy place where I feel relaxed, safe and protected from all the life horrors.

There isn’t one way to complete this exercise, and everyone comes up with their way to do it. I find a quiet place, do the breathing exercises, and then imagine myself transferring my body and my mind somewhere else. For me, it’s a green forest somewhere in Ireland, on a bright sunny day, surrounded by nature and taking in the sounds of birds flying around. For someone else, it might be a warm summer beach or a dark wet grotto in the mountains.

I try to forget everything that’s happening. I imagine being alone, isolated from the world, far away from others. Calm and rational, unbothered and untouched. Forget about hardships and enjoy this moment. I am safe and well. I am happy and loved.

P.S. To be completely honest, I don’t even need to be in a lonely quiet place to practice this technique. I sometimes do it at my desk while at work.

Doing 10 Jumping Jacks

Don’t be discouraged; it doesn’t have to be jumping jacks! There is the freedom to choose what kind of quick exercise works. The reason I resorted to doing jumping jacks out of the blue is because of the advice I read online: “if you feel the anxiety rushing through your body — resort to “scaring” it with an exercise. The idea behind it is to “attack” anxiety with a sudden release of endorphins throughout your body.” Now, every time I feel anxious, I find a quiet spot and do jumping jacks, and I usually get a flow of energy, relief and positivity right away.

Depending on where I am, exercising might present a challenge. If there is an empty room or a corner where I can hide from others — I do my best to utilize it. If not, there are other ways to relax and calm down.

Counting to 10, Or Even to 100

As simple as it sounds, it often helps. It’s crucial to direct attention to something else and try to forget about anxiety for a moment. Counting also means I’m concentrating on something other than that terrifying emotion going through my body.

Turning on The Aroma Diffuser

Who would have thought that grabbing a 15-millilitre bottle of orange essential oil, applying a few drops on a diffuser, and plugging it into the outlet can lower anxiety or even make it disappear in a matter of minutes? At least this is the way my mind reacts to it. I’m not sure if it’s the sweet aroma of oranges or the warm feeling it gives me, but for some mysterious reason, it works. This discovery motivated me to look into aromatherapy and stock up on delightfully smelling oils.

Listening to Mantras (Positive Affirmations)

Mantra is a repetitive word/phrase that carries a sacred meaning. Mantra can also be described as a chant, and it is an integral part of meditation in Buddhism and Hinduism. By repeating the same positive thought or idea all over again, I can quiet down your mind and prevent it from wandering and thinking about my past. There was a study completed in 2015 about the effects of mantras.

The Internet offers us numerous resources with mantra examples and guided videos. I prefer to look them up on Youtube by searching “mantra” or “positive affirmations.” There are many variations when it comes to mantras, with positive energy and healing mantras topping the list. Here are a few examples of the videos I listen to when I’m ready for some quality mantra time:

Shiva mantra for positive energy.

6 powerful mantras for positive energy.

O.M. chanting mantra: Removes negative blocks.

Conclusion

I’m hopeful that my experience will help someone in their “dance” with anxiety and stress levels reduction journey. I practice all these methods regularly, and they assist me when it comes to coping with my anxiety disorder.

*This article was originally published on Medium.