Anxiety is something that has wrecked my life for a while (and a while I mean my whole life lol) and is something I've spent a lot of my time and life trying to deal with and find ways of coping with it. I like to think that at 21 I have some rough idea of my triggers, of what to do when I start to feel anxious and how to deal with my anxiety, but really I'm just in the muddle of it as anyone else, but I have learnt some coping methods and want to share them with you guys too. (I'm practicing them as I write this as I've currently just ran out of the gym feeling overwhelmed and anxious, oops)
Finding Your Triggers
I've mentioned this in my previous post How To Help Someone With Anxiety/Panic Attacks that finding your triggers is one of the more important tips with anxiety, it's always helpful to know what is causing your anxiety and what is triggering you to feel anxious in situations. For me, I don't like overly crowded places when I'm feeling anxious already, sometimes I'm fine and sometimes I get very overwhelmed, it's also hard for me to cope with new places and new people, I turn quite shy and quiet until I've settled in somewhere and tend to feel very anxious until I've soothed.Listen To Your Body
Like I did today with the gym, I walked in and didn't feel right, I got onto the treadmill and my breathing started to get faster, my head started to spin and I immediately got off and ran back to my car and let it all out. Sometimes you really have to listen to what your body is telling you, if it's saying "turn around, leave" sometimes that is what you need to do. It doesn't mean you are weak or letting your anxiety win, it means you're doing what is best for you and your body and mind. If you're in a situation you don't feel comfortable in and is putting you at and is making you anxious sometimes the best thing to do is get out and find somewhere safe for you, I like to go and get 10 minutes of fresh air to calm myself down and decide whether to stay or go, because that's what I need and what's best for my mind.
Not Everything Is In Your Control
This is one I struggle with, accepting that not everything is in my control. Some things you can't help in life that make you anxious, like blood tests, or dentist appointments, or running into someone you'd rather not see, but what you can control is how you react to these things and others, and how you deal with these feelings. I don't try these myself but a lot of people say meditation and yoga helps soothe their mind into a calmer sense overall which in turn helps being calm about other situations.
Breathing Techniques and Mindfulness
I've mentioned mindfulness and wise mind a lot in my BPD blog post which you can read here and plan on doing a full blog post based on it, but learning mindfulness and breathing techniques that help you can really help with anxiety, I learnt some skills on my CBT and DBT therapy meetings and try to put them into practice to help my anxiety. One example is to get somewhere quiet and safe, and either get someone to relay a relaxation story to you or do it yourself, one of them I was taught is to imagine yourself slowly wading into water, taking in your environment slowly, thinking about what you can smell, taste, feel, hear and see as you wade further in until you're fully submerged, then when you're ready, slowly walk back out of the water and return as normal. There are plenty of these stories you can find online or on youtube and I totally recommend them! They really help me to calm down when I need it.
Take Some Time
If you're feeling anxious or on edge, take some time to debrief and start again. I like to do as I said above and take myself outside for 5-10 minutes, do some of my breathing techniques and see if I can start again, but other things you can do are grab a cuppa, feel the warm sense of the tea in your hands and the smell and taste, do mindfulness with the tea! Sometimes all you need is a good nap to take some time to yourself and rest. I also like to keep myself busy if resting isn't helping, by doing my bullet journal and being creative.
Let me know in the comments your tips on coping with anxiety!
Meg x
I have been doing allot of breathing techniques lately and they do help control my breathing when I feel my heartbeat trying to burst out oh my chest. I have considered meditation but can’t find an app. Any suggestions x
ReplyDeleteTry looking on youtube for guided meditations, for apps I don't use any myself but have heard clear fear, calm harm and calm are good! xx
DeleteI agree with you on every point here.
ReplyDeleteAccepting that nothing is in your control except your own mind is a tough thing to do, but that's what helps all along. I suffer from GAD and have been working on my anxiety since some time now. I have been specially focusing on mindfulness as that is what helps me the most. Apart from this, I work on positive self-talk and breathing to help me out of an anxious situation.
Such good tips thanks! x
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