Feeling anxious? You are not alone. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, 19% of American adults are affected by anxiety disorders each year, and 31% of American adults will experience anxiety disorder during their lifetime. This is just general anxiety, pre-COVID. To help manage anxiety, let’s go over a few self-care tools to take care of yourself and better cope with related anxiety symptoms. If your anxiety causes severe impairment, please seek specialized help.
1. Begin to notice triggers, feelings and thought patterns.
Triggers: Be curious. What happened prior to the start of the panic attack? Did something specific set things in motion? Was it cued or uncued?
Feelings: Take a few slow deep breaths and ask yourself, What am I really feeling, both physically and emotionally?
Thoughts: Look at your thoughts, especially those on repeat. What’s underneath the anxiety/panic? Create a thought record to track thoughts and learn to understand the connection between triggers, thoughts and feelings.
2. Challenge unhelpful thoughts.
Ask yourself:
Is this thought useful? Is it even true?
Am I catastrophizing or jumping to conclusions?
How will I feel if I believe this thought?
Is there another way of looking at things?
3. Practice deep breathing and relaxation daily.
You don’t need a formal meditation practice, just take a few minutes each day to focus on the breath, without attaching to your thoughts. I love the 4x4 breathing technique: inhale for 4 seconds, hold the breath for 4 seconds, exhale for 4 seconds. Repeat.
4. Do some sort of daily physical exercise.
Move around as much as you can. Cardio is a great release, but even taking a 20 minute walk or stretching can help to reduce anxiety symptoms.
5. Practice good nutrition.
Reduce (or ideally eliminate) caffeine. Caffeine is a stimulant and increases anxiety.
Eat healthy, nutritious meals throughout the day.
Drink plenty of water.
6. Practice coping skills to stop panic attacks or racing thoughts.
Take deep breaths throughout the day.
Name it to tame it.
Opposite action.
Utilize distraction.
Notice everything a certain color in the room. Notice all the sounds you hear in the room.
Look outside for nature - green trees or plants.
Get up and move around to get out of a thinking state and into a sensing state.
7. Practice self supportive statements.
I am having a hard time in this moment. I can be kind to myself.
This feeling is temporary - I’m not always going to feel this way.
I can handle this.
8. Increase your self-compassion.
Treat yourself with loving kindness as you would a friend experiencing anxiety.