How to cope with feelings of anxiousness

Feeling anxious can be uncomfortable, especially for people that deal with anxiety disorders. Symptoms can include feeling helpless, feeling nervous, feeling an impending sense of doom, and finding it difficult to manage these emotions. Therefore, I put together a list of things you can do to alleviate these feelings of anxiousness. I do want to say, however, that if these feelings are debilitating or they are too difficult to manage, speaking to a mental health professional and obtaining professional help is important and useful. 

Practice slow breathing and other coping mechanisms.  

I have always been an anxious person. I have found it difficult and impossible to manage my anxiety at times. Things became much worse when I would experience anxiety attacks on a regular basis. Therefore, practicing slow breathing techniques helped me immensely. There is a plethora of breathing techniques you can try and there are many available on the internet. Trying this for the first time may seem tiresome and boring at first, but practice makes perfect. The more you practice these techniques, the easier it will be to calm your body down when you feel overwhelmed. Things like body scans and the 5,4,3,2,1 technique are also useful. 

Try staying in the present moment. 

This is easier said than done. When you feel anxious, it can seem almost impossible to bring yourself back to the present moment. I have tried narrating my movements and what I am doing to allow me to stay in the present moment. For instance, if I am brushing my teeth or washing my face, I will narrate what I am doing to myself, to avoid thinking about how anxious I am feeling. Furthermore, interrupting my thoughts and redirecting my attention to what is in front of me has always helped. 

Set aside a worry time. 

This is one of my favorite coping mechanisms. I like to set aside a time, for example 8 pm in the evening, to sit with myself and thing about all my worries. I will usually give myself thirty minutes to an hour if I need it to properly address everything, I am worried about. I write all my worries down on a piece of paper and try to tackle them one by one by finding ways to manage the situation. 

Take care of yourself. 

This can involve getting enough rest, eating enough, or making sure that my room is clean. Feelings of anxiousness can be exacerbated when we have not eaten well or gotten enough sleep. Listening to your body is one of the most important things you can do. 

Talk to yourself the same way you would talk to a friend. 

When I feel anxious, I tend to resort to negative-self talk. I tend to be harsh on myself when, I do not deserve it. So, to help with this, I talk to myself as if I was talking to a friend. I would give myself the same amount of compassion and kindness that I would give to my friend. This allows you to feel better about your situation and helps alleviate some of the negative feelings you are experiencing. 

There are a multitude of coping mechanisms out there to help deal with feelings f anxiousness. Always keep in mind that feeling anxious is an emotion. Acknowledging it and letting it pass helps. You’d not have to be happy all the time. There will be times when you experience sadness, helplessness, nervousness, and anxiousness. It is important to keep this techniques and tools in mind so that you can deal with these emotions in the healthiest way possible.