I recently did a post on how anxiety impacts my daily life and a lot of you asked me about how I deal with it. While therapy is the key to dealing with anxiety, there are multiple things I do on a daily basis to help me cope with my day-to-day anxiety. These aren’t things I do that help me ‘get rid’ of anxiety, these are things I do to nip my growing anxiety as soon as I feel it budding. These are techniques I’ve developed through therapy as well as hit and trial. The underlying commonality between all the techniques is – distraction. For me, personally, distracting myself from what is causing anxiety helps me stop myself from spiraling. Here are some ways I help myself when I feel that panic rising –
Rewatching a favourite comedy show
There are multiple reasons why this works in calming me down. Firstly, I already know how the episode is going to go so that eases me and makes me feel comfortable. Secondly, since it is a comedy it is bound to make me laugh and in turn, make me feel safe. Thirdly, when I have calmed down, I can just turn off the show and go back to what I was doing without any lingering thoughts about the show.
Playing games on my phone
No matter where I am, I almost always have my phone on me which makes it convenient to use it as a distraction. A few months back I rediscovered my love for playing games on my phone. I restarted playing Clash of Clans and discovered that a quick 5minute game break was great to calm my anxiety as well as rejuvenate my mind.
Although I love COC, I also wanted to explore logic-based games that are a better distraction for my mind and also, are a workout for my brain. I recently discovered Solitare.org and I love this website. Firstly, you can play on the browser, so it doesn’t need an app and it is free. Secondly, they have a HUGE variety of games available from card games to logic games to nostalgic classic games like minesweeper (where is my desktop generation at?). Thirdly, each game can be completed in less than 5 minutes – it is a perfect distraction/break. Also, these games are great for a quick mental workout. My two favourite games are –
Daily 1 to 25 (I love this game! You have to connect all the numbers sequentially with some rules.)
I recommend giving these games a shot even if you are just looking to keep your mind active or need a quick break during a harrowing day at work.
Breathing exercise
There are a lot of breathing exercises recommended for people with anxiety. I, personally, just close my eyes and focus on my breathing like meditation. If I’m feeling anxious about doing something, along with the breathing exercise, I keep my hand on my heart and just say out loud – “I CAN DO THIS” again and again. This is also a great way to get that confidence boost.
Going for a walk/being out in nature
If I can, I like going for a quick walk preferably somewhere with some plants or nature around. Walking barefoot on grass or even just touching plants has a magical healing effect on me. Nature has a way of just making me feel safe and washing all my fears away.
Cleaning/organizing my vicinity
Cleaning or just organizing my immediate vicinity whether it is my desk at work or a part of my bedroom – can be so therapeutic. It doesn’t have to take up a lot of time but provides a good distraction from whatever is causing me anxiety. A clean and organized space is so calming – like decluttering your mind.
These are some quick ways that I instantly nip any rising anxious feelings. Do they always work? No. But they definitely help me a lot.
How do you deal with anxiety or panic? Do you have some go-to methods?
PS: There is no substitute for therapy to actually heal from anxiety. But healing is a long process and having some go-to methods to quickly stop yourself from spiraling really helps during the healing process.
Have you checked out my other recent posts?
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I don’t have anxiety problems (yet) but nature is my go-to place whenever I need peace and quiet 🌱🌸
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Nature just has a way of grounding us. I love being in nature.
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I always forget about how powerful being in nature is! Even being out in my yard can have a positive impact on my stress levels 🙂
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Definitely. If I’m in a bad mood, I just go hang out with my plants in our terrace garden and it just calms me down.
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These are all so good! I especially love rewatching funny things I’ve seen before. That might be the best thing for me. And definitely nature! You’re so good at knowing your triggers and dealing with them, I’m so impressed! 🌟
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I love rewatching funny shows like Modern Family or B99. It’s taken a long time to learn how to deal with them! Although I’m still learning about my social anxiety triggers. 🙈
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This was so relatable. This is so similar to how I deal with my anxiety- especially rewatching my favourite comedy shows lol!
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Right? Many times I just leave them playing in the background and just that also lets me be calm while dealing with whatever is causing me anxiety.
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I do the same! I always have stuff playing in the background it’s so comforting.
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I find nature, ocean, sand, trees, the breath ot be the best therapeutic agents – to me they create an actual effect in my system that lingers long.
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This is such a great post and I agree with everything you suggested! What works best for me is going for a walk and playing a distracting game – Candy Crush is my go-to game for that! Works like a charm every time!
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These are all doable and realistic things. I was on meds for a time with anxiety issues about 15-20 years ago. It helped me through a rough time, but I always knew I wanted natural solutions. Exercise is the number one thing that helps me both physically and mentally.
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Definitely – exercise has been a great way to get rid of any excess mental baggage. I find myself more calm on the days I get in a good work out. I’m so happy to hear that you were able to get your anxiety under control. I really really want to be rid of it. *Fingers crossed*
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The first step to finding a solution is accepting the presence of s problem . You have found workable solutions because you accepted the need. Yes, distractions are good in life.
Stay blessed always 🙏🌹🙏
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True. Thank you for your kind words!
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🌹🙏🌹
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Breathing exercises are definitely helpful – and I agree, comedy shows are some of the best comforts!
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I love doing minesweeper too! I admit though I can’t do anything that involves my phone when I have a panic attack. It sends me into a worse spiral
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I totally understand that. Used to make me spiral too. So I usually have my notifications off for apps that could make my panic worse like WhatsApp, Instagram, Telegram, etc.
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That’s good!
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Love the views! I tend to disconnect when I feel anxious and then I zone out… it’s not great zoning out the way I’ve been zoning out which is falling down a YouTube rabbit hole but as I told you before, I’ve been doing lots of art (colouring and doodling and painting a lot) so that’s actually really helped centre me…. getting fresh air and walking in nature is always a good idea too!
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Great tips actually!
Spending time with nature, watching anime and workout really works for me.
Other than that reading book at a quite place or talking to a trustful person helps as well.
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