9 Ways to Deal with Anxiety

Have you ever woken up with your heart pounding and filled with dread for no particular reason? Or maybe your palms get sweaty and you feel all weak and panicky when you have to give a presentation in school? That’s anxiety, and something most of you are probably familiar with at some point in your life. Anxiety is our body’s natural response to stress, but it can also get out of control – when our body’s threat-detection system is malfunctioning. But everyone’s response to perceived threats or danger is different, so it can hard to identify the type of anxiety.

This is a disclaimer that this article is for informative purposes only. It is not intended to diagnose or treat any condition. Please reach out to a qualified healthcare provider or mental health professional if you are struggling.

With that said, here are 9 ways to help you calm anxiety when it sneaks up on you.

1. Take a time out

Take a moment to take some slow, deep inhales and exhales to reset your nervous system – moving it from the sympathetic fight or flight mode to the parasympathetic rest and digest. Balancing out your breath allows your heart rate to come back down. Do something that allows you to step away from whatever is making you anxious. And focusing on your body instead of your mind, like doing yoga, may help put the brakes on your symptoms. The practice of meditation, if done regularly, can help train your brain to ignore anxious thoughts when they pop up and learn that they aren’t as big a deal as you think. Listening to music is also good to try.

2. Eat Well and Get Enough Sleep

Having a healthy diet and good sleep hygiene routine is important for overall well being, and it’s also great for helping curb anxiety. This includes limiting caffeine (yes, even you, hardworking students!) and alcohol which can aggravate anxiety and panic attacks. And try not to skip meals either. When you’re stressed, which can cause or increase anxiety, sleep is critical and you need extra rest when your nervous system is maxed out.

3. Learn Your Triggers

Do you know what triggers your anxiety? If not, journaling can help you try to figure it out. Writing down what’s bothering you when your anxiety crops up or stress levels increase can help you find a pattern. Once you know what triggers you, you can prepare and try some relaxation techniques to help nip it in the bud. Identifying your triggers is one of the best ways to manage and cope with anxiety as you can then try to avoid them as much as possible. Writing down your thoughts can also get what’s stressing you out, out of your head and onto paper which can help make it less overwhelming. According to Healthline, it can be helpful to question your negative thoughts and challenge them to take back some control.

4. Identify It – Is it Anxiety or Panic?

Along the same lines as identifying your triggers, you might need to determine what exactly you’re experiencing. You might have thought anxiety attacks and panic attacks are the same thing. They’re not, but they are similar which is where the confusion arises. According to Healthline, some of the more common anxiety symptoms are:

feelings of danger, panic, or dread

nervousness or restlessness

rapid heart rate

sweating

trembling or chills

tiredness or weakness

gastrointestinal problems

difficulty focusing

hyperventilation

Whereas if it’s a panic attack, you may have these physical and mental experiences :

fear of dying

feeling like you’re losing control

a sense of detachment

heart palpitations

shortness of breath

chest pains or tightness

nausea

feeling lightheaded or dizzy

numbness or tingling in your extremities

feeling hot or cold

You can experience an anxiety attack and a panic attack at the same time. Like with anxiety, the time out strategies listed above can also help a panic attack. Other things that can help are grounding yourself by focusing on an object or a mantra, or visualizing yourself in your happy place.

5. Learn to Accept It

Okay, this might not be the answer you wanted to hear. You probably wanted some quick fix or magic pill to make your anxiety just disappear – poof! But according to Dr. Rosmarin of WebMD, accepting it is one of the best ways to deal with it – when you don’t try to fight it, avoid it or distract yourself from it. If you do those things, instead of just letting it do its thing and accepting it, you’ll always be afraid of it –like the school bully! Things that can help you accept your anxiety is:

Tell yourself that you’re experiencing it. “My nervous system is ramping up because I’m worried about (X)”, and reassure yourself that what you’re feeling is normal and that it’s okay to feel stressed right now.

Or do a reality check and ask yourself: Do I have good reasons to feel how I do? How likely is what I’m worried about going to happen? Could it be that I am overreacting?

Talk about it with a trusted person, who can help you put your worries and stresses into perspective.

6. Schedule Your Anxiety

It sounds kind of strange but another great tip is to put your anxiety on hold for a specific time. Schedule 15 minutes into your day when you can think about everything that’s been making you anxious. And if an anxious thought appears outside those 15 minutes? Say to yourself ‘I’ll listen to you but not until (the specific window)’. Then when time’s up, you can go on with the rest of your day having aired out out all your anxious thoughts. A similar thing to do if anxiety is keeping you up at night is to get up and write all your anxieties down. This can help teach your brain that being in bed is for sleep not for worrying.

7. Change Your Focus

A simple way to deal with anxiety is just to focus on something else. This can be getting in touch with friends, tidying the house or doing something fun and enjoyable like painting or drawing, watching a funny movie or reading a good book, or getting outside for a walk or other exercise.

8. Practice Gratitude

According to TeensHealth, one way to help deal with anxiety when our worries derail us is to pay attention to all the good in our lives, and focus on appreciating the small, everyday positive things. Instead of letting your mind go down a negative rabbit hole, flip the script and allow yourself to dream and wish the best for yourself.

9. Seek Help

If your anxiety interferes with your daily life and is causing you uncomfortable physical sensations on a regular basis, it could be time to get support from a mental health professional who can work to help you identify your triggers and provide you with coping strategies through types of therapy like Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and maybe medication.

Closing Thoughts

Anxiety is a normal part of life, it’s our body’s way of trying to keep us safe, and something that most of us will experience at some point. When it strikes, find some relaxation techniques that work for you, like breathing exercises or getting outside for a walk to clear your head. But if anxiety is causing problems in your life, reach out for some help with a trusted professional.

Have you tried any of these tips for helping anxiety? Share this article with someone you think might benefit!

Take good care!

Note: This article is originally on Psych2Go.net, and is republished with their permission.

Check out another of my Psych2Go articles here.

REFERENCES:

Tips to Manage Anxiety and Depression. Anxiety and Depression Association of America https://adaa.org/tips (Accessed September 2, 2021)

Hirschlag, A. (2018 Dec 18) Do You Live with Anxiety? Here Are 11 Ways to Cope. Healthline https://www.healthline.com/health/mental-health/how-to-cope-with-anxiety

Delzell, E. (n.d.). How To Stop Feeling Anxious Right Now. Web MD. https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/features/ways-to-reduce-anxiety (Accessed September 2, 2021)

Star, K. (2020, May 18) Simple Steps to Help You Cope With Anxiety. VeryWellMind. https://www.verywellmind.com/manage-your-anxiety-2584184

Lyness, D. (2016, April) 5 Ways to Deal with Anxiety. Teens Health from Nemours. https://kidshealth.org/en/teens/anxiety-tips.html