At some point, each of us will experience anxiety and stress.
Recognising that you are experiencing anxiety is the first healthy step toward learning how to manage and cope with your feelings.
It’s important to note that coping strategies require work and practice in order to be effective.
To be physically strong, you go to the gym regularly and persist even when you don’t feel like exercising. Coping strategies are the same; you must be diligent every day until you feel mentally strong and healthy.
Here are some simple strategies to cope with anxiety.
1. Learn to relax your body and muscles and control your breathing. There are lots of good breathing exercises online to help you with this.
2. Use music and meditation to relax and ease your mind (especially when you feel yourself getting into an anxious space)
3. Change your thinking to consider other alternatives and solutions to the situation that’s causing anxiety.
4. Consider what you are afraid of facing and take a step back to analyse whether it is worth catastrophising over – perhaps you’ve built it up in your mind beyond the power it actually has to affect you.
5. Exercise regularly to sharpen your mind, learn to push through pain and exhaustion, get stronger, and have fun.
6. Make time to recharge, including getting a good night’s sleep.
7. Simplify your life to avoid unnecessary causes of stress.
8. Develop strategies to use when you’re feeling anxious at a particular time so you can cope in the moment, like calling a friend or distracting yourself.
There is no magic bullet when you deal with anxiety; you will not suddenly be free of worry. Each of us have different things which trigger us into a state of worry and feeling out of control. You are not alone, and you can develop skills to become stronger and better at coping with it. Remember that self-compassion is important and being kind to yourself when you don’t do as well as you want. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.
