Letters from a Friend

five ways to help anxiety

Five ways to help anxiety

Anxiety is an awful thing which effects a lot of people in different ways. the feeling can be caused by many things such as over-thinking, lack of control, panic, or simple randomness . recently i've faced a lot of anxiety but i'm getting better and better each day at controlling my anxiety using the tips that i'm going to share with you and hopefully help you or someone you know who suffers from anxiety! 🙂 though you may not benefit from all the tips I hope that this reaches and helps someone!

mindfulness

Mindfulness is something which i have been practicing for a good five years now! it's helped me through my exams, massive changes, my first -and second- panic attack and just my general day to day life. If you don't know what mindfulness is then it's simply being aware of what's around you and your state of being. My friend prefers to call them deep breaths as the term mindfulness could sometimes seem intimidating.

if you're feeling anxious chances are your breath isn't even and quick paced so being mindful of your breath allows you to regain control over this and in turn calm down so you can get all the oxygen that you need. Being aware of your surroundings also helps to eliminate the fear of the unknown or new situations as you're paying attention to what's arround you, you're paying attention to the fact that you're okay .

distract yourself

yeah this is a contrast to the last point , but it depends on who you are and what the situation is . i carry my crystals with me which distracts me from what's around me whilst i concentrate on them, or you could draw if it's appropriate int he situation. you could use a fidget-y object such as a fidget cube or simply a peice of jewellry, my dad used to spin his ear ring and i like to play with my necklaces and bracelets if i'm nervous. the sensations and thoughts help me get my mind out of the dark place. This could actually be really helpful if you have something productive that you could occupy yourself with. For example, I am a university student who has a ntoe-taker but since I've started to have more anxiety I've begun to write my own notes -which are totally unreadable- but the act of writing my own notes has helped me to remember a lot more information .

journal

journalling doesn't necessarily need to take over your life or be something that you do everyday. you could start a health journal or a spiritual journal which keeps track of your mood and how you feel or random things that upset you , this is helpful when keeping track of what makes you anxious, when and how you could perhaps work on getting over the anxiety. I know that bullet journaling could be intimidating by the truly beautiful designs we see online but your journal is what you want it to be , what you need it to be. if it helps you then it doesn't matter if it's a bit of scrap paper which is ripped at the corner or a well constructed leather journal. putting your thoughts somewhere will help keep track of and calm your mind.

talk to someone

The last point is also relevent here putting your thoughts and feelings somewhere is important. and that somewhere may be another person's brain. Anxiety is very common and you most likely know someone whose had similar experiences to you -for me it was my dad- they could tell you their experiences and how they got over it -kind of like what i'm doing now by writing this- you could learn from other's stories and knowing you're not alone will help keep your mind a little bit more clear. Anxiety can have detrimental effects to someone's health too, some people avoid eating -which was the case for me- some people eat too much -which was also the case for me...yeah...- some neglect getting the correct vitamins or amount of sleep...and so on, if you feel like you need professional help then it wouldn't hurt. if you don't then a tea date with a friend could do the world of a difference.

be in nature-relax

By this i don't mean go to a forest and just stand there doing nothing til you're calm for life. I mean stay grounded , get some fresh air at least once a day, go for walks if you can but just take a moment to look at the sky , feel the breeze and just be present. this is like mindfulness or meditation . but being grounded is very important if you want to avoid anxiety. Anxiety can sometimes make you feel like you're floating or falling, feeling like the walls are closing in on you and the whole world is going to end. but taking a moment or two to embrace fresh air or using visualisation techniques to experience a sensation of being in nature, helps you realize the reality of situations.

Nothing is permanent, take each moment as it comes and passes, ride with the wind and the waves, take life in your stride. If anxiety tries to lasso you, simply keep your hand at the level of your eyes and say 'not today, because I am happy and I am grounded and I won't let fear get to me'

hope this helps!

Nadine