8 Anxiety Management Tips

The thing about living with anxiety is you're never alone. It's there, like a shadow, filling up the extra spaces in your day. When your head hits the pillows, it pops up. You're quiet: It's loud, and louder. And oh, hang on, it's 2am. 3am. 4am.

"Why can't I settle down? What's wrong with me? What if, and how will I ever...?"

8 Anxiety Management Tips:

1. Get comfortable. How long has it been since quiet had a place in your life? Sit down, support your body. Breathe. It'll help support your mind.
2. It's OK to say 'no'. Seriously. Being polite but assertive about your space, limits, and moods is a good thing. You'll have more to give to those you care about if you take care of yourself first.
3. Ring Them Bells: It's a Liza Minnelli song. Basically, go outside. Even it's only the hall! There are a lot of things out there that will help with fatigue, enhance your creativity and nourish you, body and soul. Sunshine, for one.
4. Eat what's best for you, and exercise. You knew this one was coming. Don't restrict your life too much with all that, but it's helpful to avoid caffeine, alcohol, and uber-processed sugars wherever you can. Exercise doesn't have to be much, either. Walk to the mailbox. Jump up and down till you've released the pent-up tensions of the day.
5. Laugh, love, play. Pet a dog or cat, or hold someone's hand. These things have been shown to increase endorphin levels in the brain, which restore a sense of well-being. I recommended hula-hoop therapy -- purple, sparkly hula-hoops, to be exact.
6. Take a break! Find at least 15 minutes somewhere in your day, or longer if it's a weekly thing. Make it just for you. Schedule it. Something that gives you pleasure or feels restorative in some way. For some folks, it's a bubble bath, for others computer games work best.
7. Visualize yourself containing your anxiety:
   I had a friend who used to really stress me out, so I'd imagine it like we were underwater and his words were just bubbles floating to the top. That mental distance helped me cope.
8. Talk to the people in your life: Sometimes letting people in is the best thing you can do for yourself. Folks with anxiety often have thoughts that "others think I'm stupid, a failure, weak," and they find it really hard to speak up about anything. That can leave those around them struggling to understand, let alone help. So challenge those thoughts by communicating a bit more each and every day - good day or bad day.

The Secret to Anxiety Management

It's really not a secret at all. A lot of it is experience and familiarity, like learning a sport. Let's say baseball:

Most folks can swing a bat, but it's not going to do you much good come game time if all you do is strike out. You'll feel almost too disappointed to get out of the dug-out if you keep going that way.

Step back, get some help from someone who can see what's going on from another perspective, and keep practicing when the pressure isn't so high. When you're comfortable, you can play ball anytime.

Anxiety disorders tend to be a mixed bag: Maybe you're juggling obsessive compulsive tendencies with daily life, with the odd panic attack, and a serving of post-traumatic stress on the side. It's a lot to deal with!

I mean it all sounds pretty simple but, for sure, it isn't easy. And if something doesn't work for you one day, it may well work the next.