1) Exercise
This is one of the most effective ways to manage anxiety, it also doesn’t have to be anything intense for it to feel a little bit more settled. For example, going for a 20-minute walk can do you the world of good, trust me, this allows you to get some fresh air and increase the blood flow and circulation to your brain and body, instantly increasing your mood. Some people find yoga, Pilates and slow-paced walking effective to their mood, others also see a more intense gym session or running does the job.
2) Breathing Exercise
Breathing exercises are an effective tool used quite often to reduce anxiety, these exercises activate part of the nervous system, which then sends a signal to your brain to tell the anxious part that you are safe, automatically reducing the levels of anxiety you are feeling. A common exercise used is the “box method”, steps as follows:
STEP 1) Breathe in for 4 seconds slowly.
STEP 2) Hold for 4 seconds.
STEP 3) Slowly exhale through your mouth for 4 seconds.
STEP 4) Repeat steps until you feel back to a calm state.
3) Focus On the Things You Can Control
The things we have control over are the things we need to focus on. For example, our actions, attitudes, affection towards others, our behaviour, the words we use, our reactions and so on. The things we do not have control over are things like our thoughts and feelings, if you try and control a thought that pops into your head, it is ultimately going to come back much stronger, so don’t try and control it. We cannot control the actions of others, things that are going to happen in the future, things that have happened in the past, other people’s opinions, the weather, traffic, time and so on.
It can be very difficult to not worry about the things we can’t control. However, it is how we react to situations where we have the advantage of having control. Think about it this way, releasing what you truly can’t control can give you so much more energy to focus on the things you can. According to statistics, it shows a huge 85% of our worries and scenarios we make up, never actually happen. Something to think about.
4) Don’t Try and Defeat Your Anxiety
Everyone experiences anxiety, it is a normal human feeling people have in response to feeling stressed. So rather than trying to push the feeling away, let it in, learn to sit with it, and embrace it, this will allow you to take a huge step forward in changing your behaviour and your response to anxiety, sitting with the discomfort helps to develop and regulate our emotional skills and also taking a step closer to overcoming our anxiety.
5) Listen To the Things You Love
This is a personal go-to and one that has worked for me and that’s listening to the things you love, that make you laugh, and smile, something that you are interested in and enjoy! For example, listening to music, or podcasts whilst you’re on a walk or in the car etc, having a YouTube vlog on in the background whilst you are pottering around the house, doing chores or simply just relaxing for the day/evening. All these little things that you love are going to have an overall positive impact on your mood and just give you that bit of happiness that you deserve. Give it a go!
I hope these tips have been helpful and you find them useful, lots of love x