Intro
For years I let my anxiety get the better of me. I would avoid social situations if I could. Or I would use drugs and alcohol as a way of escaping my anxiety. Neither of these things benefitted me, they only made it worse in the long run. Short term relief equals longer term suffering. The more I learned about my own anxiety, I began to understand there were simple self-care for anxiety tips and techniques I could use, which would help me manage my anxiety in a much healthier way compared to drugs and alcohol. I’m not saying the following self-care for anxiety tips will cure your anxiety. But they will give you an insight on simple tips you can use in your life to help manage your anxiety. I suggest giving the tips a go and see if they benefit you. But before we get into that, let’s understand what anxiety is.
What is anxiety?
Anxiety is a feeling of fear, dread, nervousness, and uneasiness. Often anxiety is a natural response to life’s events. Things like upcoming exams, job interviews, or work presentations can cause anxiety as you’re worried about how they will go in the future. However, for a lot of people, me included, anxiety is a part of everyday life and it can feel like you’re constantly worried about everything. In this blog post I’m going to talk about self-care for anxiety techniques I use to help me manage my anxiety or reduce my anxiety levels on days when I’m extremely anxious.
To understand the signs of anxiety, check out this blog post.
4 Self-care for anxiety tips
1. Exercise
Exercise allows your body to release endorphins. Endorphins are a natural brain chemical that help you feel better and improve your sense of wellbeing. Also, when exercising, it’s hard to keep worrying as your focused on managing your breathing, which brings you to the present moment
Exercise is my number one self-care for anxiety tip. I find it massively reduces my anxiety levels on days where I’m extremely anxious. Another reason why I find exercise beneficial for my anxiety, is the sense of achievement I get after completing a workout. Which in turn, helps me to feel good about myself. I’ve also found that exercise doesn’t have to be an intense workout. A simple walk-in nature helps me reduce my anxiety levels and helps bring me to the present moment.
How you can use this tip
If you struggle with anxiety, I highly recommend adding a form of exercise into your daily routine. You don’t have to sign up for a gym and do 2-hour workouts every day. Not unless you want to. Exercise can be as simple a 20-minute brisk walk after work. And multiple studies show that walking is a great way to ease anxiety. Add in a form of exercise that you enjoy doing and are likely to do on a regular basis. On days when you’re feeling very anxious, up the effort of your exercise and see how you feel after.
2. Journaling
When you’re feeling anxious, it’s easy to sit there and try to think you’re way out. But this doesn’t work. Your thoughts begin to spiral, and you end up more anxious than you were. Journalling is a helpful way to get your anxious thoughts out of your head, which can offer you instant relief.
Journaling has been a huge help to me, especially on days where I’m very anxious. It allows me to get the racing thoughts out of my head, which offers an instant relief. It also allows me to understand my situation more clearly, which can often ease my anxiety. I’ve found keeping my anxious thoughts in my head, builds them into scarier situations than they are. But, when my thoughts are in front of me, a lot of the time I realise it’s not something I need to worry about. And if it is something I need to worry about, it helps me come up with a plan to take action and ease those worries.
How you can use this tip
Journalling doesn’t have to a difficult task. It can be as simple as opening notes on your phone and typing a few sentences. There is no target or limit to how much you can write. The choice is yours. The next time you’re feeling anxious, get some pen and paper or your phone and start writing. Don’t stop until you’ve got it all out of your head!
3. Breath work
When you feel anxious, it activates a flight or fight response which increases your heart rate. Deep breathing techniques reduce your heart rate and signals the nervous system to calm your body down. Focusing on your breath also helps bring you to the present moment, drawing your attention away from what you were worrying about.
At times when my anxious thoughts spiral out of control, I can feel the increase in my heart rate. Which only makes me worry more. When I feel this happening, I shift my attention to my breath. If possible, I sit there with my eyes closed, taking deep breaths. As I become more aligned with my breath, I can also feel my heart rate dropping. This also offers me some relief from my anxious thoughts. However, while I find breath worth does help ease my anxiety when it’s heightened. I gain the most benefits when I practice breath worth regularly. As part of my self-care for anxiety routine, I try and meditate at least 5 times a week. Adding meditation into my routine has allowed me to stay in the present moment a lot more and has made it easier to manage my anxiety.
How you can use this tip
If you struggle with anxiety, a great way to help you manage your anxiety is with meditation. You can pretty much meditate anywhere that’s safe to do so. Sat in a chair, lying down on your bed, parked up in your car or even at your desk at work. You don’t have to meditate for hours on end either. I’ve found meditating for 5-10 minutes a huge help. Here’s a guided mediation you can use to help get you started.
4. Sleep routine
Lack of sleep and anxiety are closely linked. Getting a good night’s sleep is an important part of looking after your mental health. If you struggle with anxiety, it can be hard to fall asleep and stay asleep. Which can make you feel more anxious in the morning as your tired. Having a sleep routine can help improve your quality of sleep.
I discovered for myself that sleep = more anxiety. When my anxiety was at its worst, I was lucky to be getting 5 hours of sleep at night. I struggled to get to sleep as my mind was always worrying about the future and I would also wake up multiple times through the night. Come the mornings, I didn’t want to get out of bed due to tiredness and a fear of what the day would bring. Creating a sleep routine, helped me improve the quality of my sleep, which in turn helped reduce my anxiety levels. And made it easier to manage my anxiety.
How you can use this tip
Here are some tips I used to create a sleep routine:
- Exercise in the evening
- Stop eating at least 3 hours before bed
- Stop using your phone at least 1 hour before bed
- Journal before bed if you feel your mind racing
- Go to bed at the same time every night
- Create a cool environment to sleep in
Conclusion
Living with anxiety isn’t easy. There are days where you feel great and not anxious at all. And there are days where your anxiety levels are through the roof. On days like this it’s important to remember that your anxiety isn’t in control. You are. Rather than letting your anxiety ruin your day, take control, and try some self-care for anxiety techniques. Only you can help yourself. Be proud of yourself for taking action to make positive change. With each step you take the next one becomes easier. The more you can understand your anxiety, the easier it is to control and manage. It’s a continuous journey, but a few steps in the right direction can help make the journey a lot more comfortable.