20 ways to manage anxiety (that you can start from home, today)
Learning to manage anxiety has never been more important. I read somewhere recently that Google searches for anxiety relief were up 800%. It’s clear the pandemic is taking its toll on mental health and emotional wellbeing. Add to that the daily drama of politics, your family dynamics, economic uncertainty, fears of your future, and how to get dinner on the table when going to the grocery store has become a major health hazard, and you’ve got one potent, anxious mix. I’m not suggesting that anxiety will go away with these activities – or even that it should. Anxiety occurs when we lean into change. It is a necessary component of growth. But you can mitigate the effects of anxiety by paying attention to what you can reasonably tolerate and learning to titrate your experience. Here are 20 ways to help you manage anxiety: Go take a hike! Find a lake in your neighborhood and go walk around it… Bonus points if you bring a friend. Listen to an audiobook…one that you would be too intimidated to tackle in hardback. Better yet share a book with someone and take turns reading to each other, either live or on the phone. Make a pot of herbal tea with calming herbs such as passionflower, hops, skullcap, camomile, lavender, lemon balm, or kava kava. Fill your house with plants! Nature heals …so when you are cooped up inside, bring nature indoors. Take your journal somewhere quiet with a view and write using these writing prompts. Join or create a weekly or monthly online support group with 3 of your besties. Offer to bring someone dinner – an elderly neighbor or stressed-out mother. Generosity is one of the best ways to get out of our own drama. Get a new cookbook and learn 3 new recipes that will help you clean up your diet. Try going sugar-free for a week. Recommit to daily meditation practice. Find a series of audio-guided meditations that will renew your enthusiasm and help you go to a deeper level with your meditation. Get on your bike. Ride to the park and bring your lunch. If it’s cold bundle up like you are going skiing. Brainstorm new ways to develop or even make a living using your creativity. Get a notebook designated only for this and make notes in it daily. Keep a journal to download whatever emotional baggage you need to release. Make sure at the end of each entry you practice identifying at least one thing you are grateful for. Keep in touch with old friends or renew old friendships. Take naps! Make deep rest a part of your daily practice. Doodle or draw. Make a set of small blank cards by cutting up a piece of watercolor paper. Keep a stack of markers, colored pencils, or watercolors next to your desk. Get them out when you are on the phone or on a zoom call. Studies have shown that doodling actually helps increase our listening retention. Create a sleep ritual. Set a bedtime and stick to it. Create a nightly routine that helps prepare the mind and body for sleep. Take a warm bath with soothing essential oils. Drink a cup of calming tea and put your dream journal on your nightstand so you can write down your dreams first thing when you wake up. Put your phone in the other room. Listen to soothing music. Try a music app to discover new playlists and musical genres…like “music for sleep”, “binaural beats” or “Nepal meditations”. Discover all the virtual art exhibits online these days. Make a weekly “artist date” with yourself. Watch an indie movie or an old classic….something from another era or culture, preferably without violence. I love Mubi.com these days. They upload a new movie each day. Organize a closet or drawer and make a donation to the local homeless shelter.
