14 Techniques To Help You Cope With Anxiety

How is your response to fear? Are your palms sweaty, or is your heart drumming out of control? Relax! Coping with anxiety requires you to identify what triggers you to start panicking.

Anxiety is chronic and can happen anytime as long as you are experiencing stress. For that reason, you must develop strategies to respond to those anxious moments when they arise.

Several instances can trigger anxiety, such as meeting deadlines for work, exams, or a job interview. It’s crucial to keep a cool head and manage your stress levels, to achieve a better outcome in dealing with the situation you’re experiencing.

Different anxious situations require individual response techniques. Identifying what calms you down will be an excellent start in managing your anxiety.

Here are some easy-to-do techniques to cope with anxiety as you go along with your life.

1. Breathe

Perhaps the most basic technique for controlling anxiety is breathing. It helps calm down your heart rate and blood pressure and maintain a constant supply of oxygen to your body organs.

Taking deep breaths in and out can improve your situation, and make you feel relaxed. In addition, you’ll quickly regain your focus and concentration in whatever you’re doing. So, take it easy and breathe whenever you feel like you’re about to lose your cool.

2. Exercises

Sometimes exercising your body can be the best solution for coping with anxiety. Exercising challenges your stress levels and can improve your mental toughness, depending on the intensity.

For instance, if you like jogging for five minutes, you can decide to add two more minutes every day to your routine. It keeps you relaxed and relieves stressful situations that befall you. 

In addition, you can plan to hit the gym regularly as you pick up a new routine to keep your mind busy. It would be advisable to seek the help of a gym instructor to assist you in executing your fitness routine to lessen the stress of not knowing how to start.  

3. Meditate

Meditation is an ancient practice that combines breathing and mindful visualization. It helps you concentrate on positive thoughts and hope for the best results. 

However, meditation requires patience and understanding of how and when to do it. For instance, you must be seated in a quiet environment with fresh air. You should be engaging your imagination by visualizing your happy place with an excellent ambiance.

So, if meditation is not something you prefer, you could also try doing yoga to help calm your nerves. Research online on ways to facilitate yoga at home or enroll in yoga classes near your area.

4. Read 

Reading books keeps your mind focused and can help bring your stress levels down. Several self-improvement books can help you manage life’s challenges. You can read one chapter a day and try to incorporate it into your everyday life.

In addition, you’ll get more insights into overcoming anxiety through reading. Also, you can join a reading club or communities online to improve how you relate with people.

Furthermore, reading books can expand your knowledge and help you conquer your fears and anxiety. But the best part is applying what you’ve learned to better improve how you deal with your struggles.

5. Write

When anxiety checks in, writing down your feelings can significantly influence your reaction to such situations. It helps to tactically address your stress and improve your confidence to keep calm when sudden fear is hanging over you.

Keeping a journal can help you evaluate how you handle your days and keep track of your wins. You’ll have organized days and be productive in whatever tasks you assign yourself.

In addition, you can have a vision board wherein you can post photos of your goals, favorite meals, cities, or musicians. It helps to have visual images that can be useful for your meditation routine.

6. Call A Friend

Stop listening to your inner voice and call your best friend or family and express your situation. You might get tips that can instantly change how you feel. 

For instance, your job interview could be making you anxious and afraid to speak. Calling your friend can make you feel relaxed and confidently helps you in preparing for it.

However, you must make sure that someone reliable is on the other end of the line who understands your chronic situation. 

7. Music For The Soul

Listening to music or podcasts are simple techniques to calm your nerves down. Singing along will do wonders for you, and will surely relax your mind since you’re having fun dancing to the tune. 

However, your choice of music depends on how you’re feeling at that particular time. You could be anxious about giving a speech, and listening to upbeat music can spark your confidence.

Alternatively, you can listen to a podcast to uplift your spirit and improve your focus on whatever task you want to accomplish.

8. Therapy

You can benefit from counseling sessions by undergoing cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). It’s a tool used by therapists to identify anxiety triggers and develop ways to overcome them.

It entails talking to your therapist about your worries and fears to try and track your behaviors and response to stress. Your therapist can design a course to help you cope with anxiety and conquer your fears.

Alternatively, aromatherapy can also help you while trying to manage your anxiety by using essential oils like cinnamon for relaxation or aromatherapy candles for stress relief. 

9. Shower And Massage

Whenever the dark cloud of anxiety creeps in, a shower might clear your mind. Your muscles will relax and reduce the tension in your system. A moderately warm shower in a peaceful and quiet room can be ideal for a start.

The feeling of cleansing your body when stressed has a tendency to send positive energy to your mind. It clears all the cobwebs brought by anxiety and restores your calmness.

If you fancy massage therapy, you might include it in your routine. It helps to ease the whole body while relaxing your muscles and relaxing your mind. 

10. Watch A Movie

Laughter is truly the best medicine. Watching funny films and clips will keep that smile on your face. Your mind will be at ease since you’ll be sending happy signals that are infectious all over your body.

Fortunately, the internet offers several options to keep you entertained while laughing your heart out. You can share the same space with your family and friends and help you cope with anxiety. 

11. Eat Healthily

Pay attention to what you eat and maintain a healthy diet. Also, you must plan your meals well to avoid hunger pangs since they can be painful and may add to your stress levels.

It’s advisable to consult a dietitian to get a proper meal plan that’s sustainable. In addition, you must constantly hydrate and supply your system with essential fluids like water and fruit juices.

However, you must avoid alcohol when you’re anxious because things might go from bad to worse. So, carefully consider what you eat and drink.

12. Get Some Sleep

When anxious, taking a break from whatever is stressing you by taking a nap can change everything. Sleeping means putting everything aside and shutting down to cool off your system. 

When you wake up, you’ll feel fresh to start again but with a clear mind to make informed decisions. However, if you’re having difficulty sleeping, a quick shower can do wonders, and for sure you’ll fall asleep after.

13. Find A DIY Project

The trick to overcoming anxiety is engaging your mind with positivity. Do-It-Yourself (DIY) can be helpful and can keep your thoughts on completing whatever project you start. 

For instance, if you like pottery, you can get tutorials online to learn how to make pots. In the end, you might create an income from the project while coping with your anxiety.

In addition, you can develop new routines like decluttering your house once in a while. Or volunteer in a community project. You’ll be acquiring new skills as you manage your stress levels.

14. Don’t Procrastinate

Poor self-management skills can result in anxiety. You tend to always be in a rush because you pushed a deadline or ignored the crucial tasks. 

While doing things in a hurry, your stress levels go further up and can lead to a disastrous end. So, begin by prioritizing what needs to be done and finish it right away to enjoy your free time. A simple practice you can follow is to have an organizer to schedule your tasks according to their priority level.

Once finished, you can reward yourself with a nice meal or a gift for a job well done. Such small achievements can snowball into overcoming your anxiety and changing your perspectives on life.

Conclusion

It can be challenging to pinpoint what triggers your anxiety as you go through your day. Your thought processes contribute significantly to how you’re feeling right now. Therefore, it’s essential to keep a positive mindset and be keen to spot anxiety triggers. It helps to learn how to handle such situations and stay calm. In addition, there are classic techniques mentioned above that are sustainable for managing your stress and panic attacks when they occur.