5 Tips to Conquer Anxiety
Over the past year and a half, while dealing with infertility, I’ve done a lot of soul-searching. I realized that I’ve suffered from anxious thoughts pretty much my entire life. And while I was very good at doing things to help my anxious thoughts (like journaling, working out, and eating healthy), I’ve recently learned about a few other coping techniques to expand my toolbox. Here are a few of those “tools” to help if and when you have that gut-wrenching, need to take a deep breath, anxious feeling arise.
SELF CARE
Taking care of yourself is so, so important for everyone — especially if you struggle with anxiety. For me, eating healthy (most of the time) and working out are total game changers when it comes to how I feel mentally. While exercising certainly helps physically, I do it way more for my mental well-being than my physique. I’ve also found that for me, lower intensity workouts like yoga, sculpt, and barre are better than high intensity workouts. Because my mind is racing most of the day, slower paced workouts help to calm me down instead of hype me up.
Self care can mean different things to different people. Maybe it’s lighting a candle and taking a bath or carving out some alone time. Perhaps it’s putting on a face mask and going through your nightly routine (you can check out my nightly routine here!). The key here is to find what self care routine works best for you, and try to give yourself the time to do it. Make yourself a priority!
2. JOURNALING
I’ve been journaling for most of my life. When I was younger it was more of a “dear diary” type journal, but now I write much more intentionally. There’s no right or wrong way to journal — just grab a pen and paper and write whatever is on your heart. While I usually don’t go back and read past entries, sometimes doing so can provide you with perspective of how far you’ve come! Things you may have been worried about are no longer a problem. There’s also a few prompts you can do within journaling that will help to keep you present, which will slow the spiraling of your anxious thoughts.
Journal Prompts
Write down a list of all of the things you are currently thankful for. It will remind you of all of the good you have in your life.
Start each journal entry with I am ____ (statement about you), I will ____ (statement of change in your life), and I can ____ (statement about your potential)
Fold a piece of paper within your journal in half. On the left side, write what you’re currently feeling and on the right side write down what you KNOW is true right now. More often than not, what we are feeling are just anxious thoughts and none of them are truths.
Write down a list of the 5 things you can currently see, 4 things you currently feel, 3 things you currently hear, 2 things you currently smell, and 1 good thing about yourself.
3. CHINESE MEDICINE
I’ve also found that Chinese medicine is extremely helpful for my anxiety and stress. My two favorite forms of Chinese medicine are meditation and acupuncture. The first time I went to acupuncture at The Yinova Center, I got on the elevator after my session and ended up on the 20th floor of the building (and I started on floor 3). I was so relaxed I didn’t even press the elevator button when I got in! As for meditation, it’s still something I struggle with doing, because it’s hard to be in your head if you’re an anxious person. But, whenever I mediate, I feel so much better. Even just simple breathing exercises (like box breathing) can really help. I love using the Headspace app, and have heard great things about Calm.
4. SET ASIDE TIME TO WORRY
If you're worrying about something specific that seems to be taking up all of your thoughts and energy (i.e. infertility, relationship problems, job stressors, etc.), instead of agonizing over it all day long, set aside 15 minutes to think about it a day. It sounds a little strange, but setting aside time to worry about that thing (and even putting it into your calendar), will make a huge difference. After trying out this technique, I found that my 15 minutes a day weren’t spent crying or worrying, but instead more actionable (i.e. calling a doctor to book an appointment or ask a question).
5. BE KIND WITH YOURSELF
Anxiety is hard, but you are not alone. There are so many resources that can help. Don’t be afraid to talk to someone, even a friend. And be kind and gentle with yourself and your feelings.
You can do this.