Let’s be real. Anxiety sucks. The hard thing about anxiety is it’s so different for everybody. It manifests itself in distinct ways for different people and can also be triggered by a ton of different things. For me, anxiety often feels like nausea/GI symptoms, panic, and feeling hot. And for me it’s often triggered in new social situations or when I’m stressed-because that’s exactly what I need when I’m meeting new people… “Hi, I’m Sam and I feel like I’m about to puke.” Great first impression right?
Honestly my anxiety didn’t used to be that bad, but then a certain virus sent the world into isolation. After a couple of months out of practice in social situations and at the same time having a bunch of GI health issues arise, I started struggling with anxiety.
No matter the cause of your anxiety there ARE things you can do about it! Do not believe the lie that anxiety is just part of who you are now. Try these 5 things and see if any of them work for you:
1. DECLARE
When working with kids, counselors and teachers will often have kids “talk back” to their big feelings. This helps the kid recognize that they are in control of that feeling and not the other way around. Now, I’m not saying that you are a child, but the way that we talk to ourself MATTERS. There’s a really awesome podcast by Craig Groeshel called Winning the War in your Mind (listen to it here), and in the podcast Craig talks about declaring truth outloud over yourself. These declarations are often referred to as afirmations. Laura Clery (a hilarious online content creator) also talks a lot about affirmations and how they helped her overcome addiction and depression. In fact there are several studies that prove that declaring things over yourself can have a profound impact on your brain. Studies like this one, or this, or this. So when you are feeling anxious start declaring either outloud or in your head things that you have prepared in advance EVEN IF THEY DON’T FEEL TRUE. Better yet, make affirmations a daily habit and see how it changes your life! Start with things like:
“I am not a slave to anxiety.”
“I have the peace of God-it is not based on circumstances and can’t be taken from me.”
“Fear doesn’t control me.”
“I am confident.”
You get the point. Need more affirmation ideas? Go here.
2. PRAY
Do you know my savior Jesus? If you don’t, you are missing out. He cares deeply about your emotions and he is faithful to help in times of distress. My friends, stop believing the lie that your anxiety is a sin. God told us not to be afraid, notice he did not say we couldn’t feel afraid. In other words, it’s okay to feel afraid, but don’t let it control you! It is not who you are. God does not love you less because you feel anxious, but he wants you to lay your fears down in front of him. When in the garden the night before he was crucified for our sins, Jesus was in constant prayer because he was dreading the trial in front of him and he asked the Father to remove the trial if it could be removed. (Mark 14:32-42/ Matthew 26:36-46) Do you think his heavenly Father was looking down on him with disappointment or compassion? Don’t you think Jesus understands our struggles? Try talking to him and see what he can do-I promise it’s more than you can ever think or imagine. Not sure what to pray? Here’s a few verses to get you thinking:
Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience the peace of God, which exceeds anything we can understand.
Phillippians 4:6-7
3. BE GRATEFUL
Did you know that thankfulness isn’t just for Turkey Day? Gratitude is like a weapon we can use against our negative and anxious thoughts. Oftentimes when I am anxious I will start listing things I am thankful for in my head. It’s okay to list obvious things, but try to get creative with your gratitude and think of things to be grateful for that you haven’t thought of before. There’s an app I have on my phone called Gratitude that has a gratitude journal as well as an affirmations tab. The gratitude journal has daily prompts that help you get creative in your gratitude, and the affirmations tab has a place for you to write down your declarations and then you can play them like an instagram story. If you need gratitude inspiration, just go follow Bethany Hamilton on any social media site! That girl has gratitude oozing out of her very pores.
4. SINK IN AND BREATHE
Okay this one is what I do when I’m in a full blown anxiety attack, or I feel one coming on. Like I mentioned above, anxiety often manifests for me in my stomach and I fell nauseous and sometimes even dizzy. Well when I’m in public that often makes me panic that I’m about to be sick in front of other people and that contributes to my anxiety and makes it worse. So instead of panicking and trying to fight the anxiety, I visualize myself sinking slowly into the feeling just like sinking underwater. Allow it to overwhelm you for a second and pay special attention to what you’re feeling. Nausea, stomach knots, shakiness, hard to concentrate, racing heart, let all of it just wash over you and force yourself to relax into it. Then start breathing and imagine that with every out breath you are gently rising out of the feeling-like a leaf floating to the surface of a pond. Make sure your out breath is longer than your in breath.
This kind of visualization works for me, but find what works for you. What do you need to visualize to stop the panic and just breathe?
5. JUST DO IT
No I’m not talking about a Nike t-shirt, but I did steal their slogan. Especially for those of us who’s anxiety is triggered by new or stressful situations, this is something we need to hear. Go to the event. Take the plane trip. Go introduce yourself. Sign up for that opportunity. Do the interview. Jump off that diving board. JUST DO IT. We have to stop avoiding situations that are triggering our anxiety, because if we do the anxiety is just going to get worse. Arm yourself with the tools that work for you and act like your anxiety isn’t even there. I’m not saying that you should hide your anxiety, but do not let your anxiety decide for you. And every time you do something scary despite the fact that your anxiety told you not to, reward yourself! Give yourself a mental pat on the back and memorize the feeling. Next time you do it, it will be even easier.
What other tools work for you when you are dealing with anxiety? Share in the comments below!
