5 Things You Can do To Help Relieve Anxiety
If you are one of the 40 million adults in America affected by anxiety (source), you might be wondering what you can do to relieve your anxiety. As a therapist, I often help my clients learn how manage and reduce their anxiety by working through specific goals that encourage awareness, confidence, and skill-building. In today’s post, I wanted to share with you all 5 things you can do to begin relieving your own anxiety.
1. Increase your awareness of the anxiety
It may seem counterintuitive, but the first thing you can do to start managing your anxiety is to become more aware of it. When we try to ignore our anxiety or “push it away,” we can actually be making it worse. Instead, spend some time every day writing down the moments you felt anxious and what you were thinking during those moments. For example:
Monday at 12:00 pm, at the grocery store. I was thinking “I’m an idiot, I know I’m going to forget something important.”
Doing this will help you become more aware of how often and when you feel anxious. By becoming more mindful of your anxiety, you will be more successful in managing it.
2. Go to the doctor for a check-up/bloodwork
Another helpful step in managing anxiety is going to a doctor for a check-up and bloodwork. There are many medical conditions that can sometimes be the cause of your anxiety. Some include: heart disease, IBS, thyroid disorders, sleep apnea, respiratory disorders, brain conditions, and hormonal problems. By checking in with a doctor you can make sure to rule out these potential causes of your anxiety.
3. Practice rational self-talk
Once you become more aware of your anxiety, you’ll begin to realize that your anxiety heavily influences/is influenced by your self-talk. Self-talk is your inner voice. At times, this voice can be encouraging, positive, and rational. Other times, this voice can be defeating, harsh, or irrational. One of the most helpful tools for managing anxiety is learning to respond to your anxious, or irrational thoughts, in more rational ways. This looks something like:
Irrational thought: “I shouldn’t talk to her. She’s going to think I’m a loser and make fun of me.”
Rational thought: “She’s a kind person, which is why I like her in the first place. She won’t make fun of me and I have nothing to lose if I talk to her.”
The more you practice this tool, the easier it becomes to think more rationally and lower your anxiety levels.
4. Stay away from things that make anxiety worse
This next tip seems simple, but can be tricky! Often times, there are things in our lives that are making anxiety worse that we can try stepping away from. Some examples include certain foods, caffeine, social media, or some friends and family members. It could be helpful to find out what triggers your anxiety (again, practicing awareness!) and do less of that thing. However, don’t take this to the extreme and cut off everything from your life that makes you anxious. This could lead to a life that is unfulfilling and too restricted. Instead, consider taking a break for just a bit or modifying the relationships between you and some of these triggers.
5. Practice relaxation techniques
Last, but not least, relaxation techniques are super helpful tools for managing anxiety. Teaching your body how to relax in stressful or anxiety-producing moments can make a big difference in your journey to relieving your anxiety. Some of the techniques are progressive muscle relaxation, deep belly breathing, imagery, and meditation. Try looking up some of these tools on sites like YouTube to find thousands of videos that can help walk you through the steps of using them.
Hopefully you find one or all of these tools helpful as you begin your journey to relieving your anxiety. An important thing to remember is that anxiety is just a normal emotion that we do not have to fear. The more we are afraid of it, the less in control we may feel. The truth is, anxiety is absolutely manageable and doesn’t have to take over your life. As always, if using these tools on your own is not possible or is not giving you the results you need, it may be time to see a mental health professional for additional support and expertise.
