Managing Anxiety can be a long and exhausting process. It took me a few years to work out ways to cope with it myself. My Anxiety mainly rooted from when I suffered from severe acne almost 5 years ago where I’d be too anxious to leave the house at all. It then intertwined with exam stress and juggling workload; I speak about this more over on my blogpost linked above. It can take it’s toll on you for sure!
Whilst you’re doing whatever it is you’re doing to overcome your anxiety, below is a list of ways you can improve anxiety right now. If you’re not currently doing anything then this will be even more helpful!
It’s grand to have a hobby, something you can make progress with, learn from and keep you focused on. Sometimes changing lifestyle choices can relax us after being around people all day and sometimes they can bring us towards like-minded people.
These are five ways that help/helped me tremendously:
Walking
Personally one of my favourite things to do to clear my head and make me feel more relaxed, confident and strong. Taking long walks helped me in so many ways during difficult and stressful times in my life.
Try using a fitness tracker and hitting a step goal every day, surround yourself with trees, somewhere away from buildings and people, but safe!
Writing
Some people find it therapeutic expressing themselves through writing and from people close to me who suffer/have suffered from anxiety, it has helped them greatly. It’s such a lovely, creative way to process your thoughts and feelings, especially if you write specifically about your experiences and if you choose to share your writing publicly, you can help so many people who are in a similar boat.
The art of journaling is also becoming increasingly popular due to its mental health benefits.
Art
This is one of my favourite hobbies to do! I did Art back when I was doing my A-levels, and hands down can say it didn’t feel like work at all. I thoroughly enjoyed it because it helped me cope with my other more strenous subjects. It’s a really relaxing and creative way to process your feelings through a hobby. You can paint/draw or digitally illustrate pieces that reflect how you feel or you can just learn a new skill and use it as a way to escape every day life.
Exercise
Any exercise is good for anxiety and stress relief but HIIT is up there at the top for me personally. Other people really enjoy yoga and pilates and experience great improvement with their anxiety. HIIT was recommended to me by a friend, and it will be a few years now since using The Body Coach by Joe Wicks workouts.
Boxing can also be ace for relieving all the tension and stress that anxiety causes. Imagine having an awful day and then beating your energy out of a punching bag?! Yes please!
Reading
This is something I wish I can do more of, I’m ashamed to say. Studies have shown that just six minutes of reading can help reduce stress levels by up to 60%. That’s 68% better than listening to music, 100% better than drinking tea, and 300% better than going for a walk.
Part of feeling anxious is feeling like everything is out of your control. Despite the fact that reading fiction means immersing yourself in a world that isn’t necessarily real, books can be oddly grounding for me. They are a solid, tangible thing in my hands that promise only good things. They are not threatening. They offer a sense of comfort when everything else feels like it’s spiralling.
