5 Tips to Reduce Anxiety
Most of us experience a sense of anxiety as we go through our days or weeks. It doesn’t have to show up by debilitating our lives. It can be as simple as unconscious habits and thoughts we do or say every day that create a sense of uneasiness. But the good news is, you can change this through a few simple activities. Everyone is different, so if one of these don’t work for you, try the next one. Talk therapy is the best way to explore and work through your anxiety. Create a personalized approach with your therapist to help you overcome the anxiety you are experiencing. But these are a good start to help ease your anxiety in the meantime.
Reduce your caffeine intake. Caffeine can enhance your jitters, sweaty palms, and anxious feelings. It may start your mind racing and increase your energy levels. Caffeine only enhances any of the anxious symptoms you are experiencing.
Breathe. Take a moment and focus on your breath. Focusing on your breath brings you to the present and removes the negative thoughts you might be having. It also reduces your blood pressure, bringing a calm to your whole nervous system.
Books. When your mind does not have something positive to think about, we tend to default to listening to those negative thoughts we say to ourselves. I recommend having a book or audio book available at all times. You can use these resources to help prevent your mind from wondering. Your books should be anything that will inspire you or takes your mind off of your worries.
Music. Create a playlist that energizes you and takes you to a happy place. Choose songs that take your mind off of any anxiety provoking thoughts you are experiencing and have this on hand so you can play it as you need.
Affirmations. I think this activity can be the hardest sometimes. The reason we are experiencing these negative thoughts is because we’re listening to all of the negative self talk our minds throw at us! When we use affirmations, we have to say nice things to ourself. Why is that so hard for so many of us? It takes practice, but it’s well worth it. Take a thought creating anxiety and focus on a positive statement around it. For example, if you’re anxious about a test and you’ve done the necessary prep, tell yourself “I can’t wait to take the test”, OR, “I’m going to ACE that test”. You can even say, “I’m prepared for this test and it will be a piece of cake”. Take the time to say it multiples times OUT LOUD throughout the day in order to replace the negative thoughts you’re having.
I encourage you to try these activities even BEFORE you experience anxiety. Why be reactive when we can be proactive? Keep in mind, nothing works over night. It takes time and work to create change. Our thoughts are not established in 24 hours, they are engrained over time. So it will take patience and effort to replace those anxiety provoking thoughts. But you CAN change! That’s the best news!