6 Quick Tips to Cope with Anxiety

Some things that affect our mental health aren’t looked at as ‘as serious’ as other problems. Anxiety is definitely one of these that I’ve seen constantly downplayed. With the struggles I’ve faced with anxiety, I couldn’t not share something to shed more awareness on World Mental Health Day.

As I talked about on this episode of the podcast, I went throuuugh ittt – when I first started experiencing anxiety it was tough and I just knew something major was wrong with me. I went to the ER like 3 times in one weekend because I felt like I couldn’t breathe. The last hospital told me I was hyperventilating and was dealing with anxiety. I won’t talk about it too much here because you can listen to the episode…

But eventually I started to feel like I’d had a good grip on it. I was good for a couple of years! But yall, it started to come back with what seemed like a vengeance lately! & I NOW know it was because of different forms of stress I was allowing in my life. I was over-working, over-thinking and definitely over-stressing. Not to mention over-eating, as I do too much of when I feel overwhelmed.

After feeling so much better for so long, I feel like I started to forget all the ways I’d learned to deal with my anxiety. It felt like I was starting from square 1. Which made the whole experience even more stressful than before.

You know when you feel like you’re over something, then you get triggered and realize you really aren’t??

#Yea…That Feeling

Since I know I’m not the only one who needs reminders of what helps when dealing with stress sometimes, here are 5 quick ways we all can ease our anxieties:

& they’re quick because when you’re in that moment, you just want fast relief.

Breathe In, Breath Out. The moment I feel myself starting to stress or panic, I start deep breathing and it may seem really simply but it truly helps! It forces me to focus on my breathing rather than what may be stressing me. And it’s worth calling out that sometimes you may not even realize what’s stressing you – so pay attention to what’s going on when you notice a panic attack or anxious feeling coming on.

Walk it Off. Feeling fresh air and taking a quick five minute walk literally clears my mind. Kind of like deep breathing, feeling the natural air and sun on my skin makes me feel like I’m being freed from whatever is stressing me lbs. Plus, getting your heart pumping & moving is always good for lifting your mood.  

Cut the Caffeine – This is sooo hard for me, but I notice a difference when I stop drinking coffee. I know other people call perms the creamy crack, but for me it’s definitely a Vanilla Caramel Latte. The problem for me with caffeine is that it races your heart, which leads to more anxious feelings.

Sis, Lose the SHAME! You need help, we all do. And that’s okay. But if you can’t lose the shame that sometimes comes with anxiety, you’ll never fully get the help you need. You deserve to feel better, sis. Getting professional help is NOTHING to be ashamed of. Accept it and do what you have to in order to have peace. Peace. Is. Priceless.

Pulse Check… Now this one is something that I’ve done since I started dealing with anxiety that I’m not sure many other people do. Whenever I get anxious I feel my heart start to race and then think it’s racing too fast which leads to more stress and higher heart rates. #Ughhhh So I started simply checking my pulse when I felt panicked. When I realize that it’s really not racing as fast I think, I calm down.

PRAYER – If you’re a woman of faith, I promise you prayer works and changes things. & that’s all she wrote on that one.

Although most of these have worked for me, everyone is different! There are other ways you can cope with stress in your life. The main wrong way to deal with it is to not deal with it at all.

PS – I know there are other wrong ways to deal with anxiety, & we’ll for sure talk about negative coping mechanisms soon in another post.

XOXO ❤
Celesha

How do you deal with stress, anxiety or worry in your life? Share your tips in the comments!