6 Tips for Overcoming Anxiety

Photography by Sarah Halwani

I’ve shared quite openly on my blog and my Instagram about my history with anxiety - something I have struggled with for as long as I can remember. Most days, it’s completely manageable… while my anxiety is pretty much always “running in the background”, I can make it through the day without it really impacting me. But on the not-so-good days (which are thankfully few and far between now), it’s a different story.

At the end of December, just after Christmas, I went through a period of 4-5 days where my anxiety felt like it was taking over. I felt on-edge, anxious, out of control, lost, and paralyzed in a sense. It passed, thankfully, and while this stuff isn’t always fun to talk about it, I hope that by sharing my experiences and what helps me, I can help someone else get out of an anxious period in their life.

I’ve been working through my anxiety for years now, and have learned a few things along the way. These are the 6 things that have helped me the most, and I continue to use any time I’m feeling anxious.

1) Acknowledging that I’m feeling anxious. I have a bad habit of pretending that I’m fine when I’m not, going about my business as usual, and then “exploding” when sh*t hits the fan. But, when I notice that I’m starting to get that anxious feeling in my body, and actually take the time to acknowledge how I’m feeling, it can drastically impact how the anxiety will manifest for the better. This also helps me take a step back from what I think is making me anxious, and bring a little more reason into the situation.

2) Writing down the things I need to do. My anxiety tends to show up most often when I feel overwhelmed by my to-do list. When this happens, after acknowledging my anxiety, I grab my planner, and write down everything that I need to do. From there, I break it down by day (what needs to get done today, tomorrow, the day after, etc.), and finally, I prioritize each day’s tasks in order of what is most important or time-sensitive. I’ve found that this really helps me to manage everything I need to do, and tackle them one-by-one, day-by-day. I also love crossing things off of my to-do list, and being able to see the progress I am making on paper is a huge bonus.

3) Going for a long walk. I’ve talked at length about the benefits of getting outside for our health, overall wellness, and anxiety management, and that’s because getting outside and going for a nice long walk does wonders for me when I’m feeling anxious. Movement in general helps me to get out of my head and into my body, grounds me, and eases my anxious thoughts.

4) Dropping into a meditation. I know that when you’re feeling anxious, the last thing you probably want to do is sit still with your own thoughts. But hear me out - in the same way that getting into our bodies by taking a walk can help ease anxiety, pausing to sit with our thoughts can actually help us to release them. It doesn’t have to be about putting a complete stop to the anxious thoughts, but rather acknowledging the anxiety we’re experiencing, rationalizing with ourselves a bit, and processing the feelings. Using things like sage, palo santo, a candle, or essential oils during meditation can help to bring my anxiety down even further.

5) Eliminating things that are making me anxious. I know that this sounds obvious, but when you’re in the thick of an anxious episode, I promise you it’s not! Things like excessive screen time, caffeine, and alcohol can all trigger anxiety, and while they might not be the root cause of it, taking a step back from them when I’m anxious can helps me to get a head start on my “reset”. This is part of the reason I decided to do Dry January again this year after my post-Christmas anxiety.

6) Getting organized. This one goes hand-in-hand with writing down what needs to get done, which is often the first step of getting organized for me. Getting organized also looks like clearing out clutter from my space, re-organizing my workspace, cleaning out my closet, etc. - when my space is clear and organized, it invites in clearer energy and a less cluttered mindset.

I hope that these tips can help you the next time you’re feeling anxious. The best thing about them is that they can all be used in the moment and practiced just about anywhere.

What are your favorite ways for managing your anxiety?

xo,
Kelsey