Anxiety - what helps? No matter how small!

[rainbowninja]

This might sound corny but I'd love to know what helps you if you suffer from anxiety. I don't mean therapy or medication etc just really simple things like games
or other distractions?

Yoga works for me. It helps me switch off and realise that worrying won't change things.
Lockdown yoga however is having the opposite effect. Its not the same doing a zoom class in the living room with the family stepping over you!

Mindfulness and being in the moment work for me

The 5,4,3,2,1 grounding method ❤️

Sudoku, you can't think about anything else, you just focus on the puzzle, esp if you put a timer on!

YouTube is great for distraction, so is music, although I avoid classical and opera when I'm anxious, they make me feel sad.

deep belly breathing
watching Dr Pimple popper!

Running
Lifting weights
Herbal tea (especially fennel, cardamom and aniseed for me)
Singing
Hot showers
Fresh air

Run! I had serious anxiety and running massively helped. You get out, exercise, vitamin D and feel good endorphins!

Thanks all, I like the idea of having a list of ideas of things that help. I like puzzles although anxiety sometimes makes it hard to think! I love dr pimple popper 😂

There’s a Caitlin Moran video of her giving a talk where she says “I promise you, you will never have to deal with more than the next 60 seconds.”

When I feel my anxiety building, I say to myself “Right - what do you have to do in the next 60 seconds?” I find it can help the spiralling sometimes.

Letter writing! There's something very meditative to it. Plus if you get into the decorated envelopes/paper crafting side of things you can easily sink hours into one letter.

Deep belly breathing
Fake it till you make it - smile when you feel like death warmed up.
Relax your jaw deliberately every time you feel that you are clenching.

I hum tunes when Im anxious . It helps steady my breathing and also gives others the idea that Im carefree. You cant hum show tunes and be anxious apparently.

Put it all together and you are one relaxed heap !

Square breathing - breathe in for a count of 4, hold for 4, exhale for 4 and hold for 4.

Full body relaxation - this is a great video; - it takes practice to learn it but once you do you can apply it as soon as you start to tense up.

And my absolute hero! Hank Green -

@Titterofwit great shout, I always forget about my jaw and the moment someone mentions it I relax it and notice the difference straightaway

I've heard that Caitlin Moran quote before too, it really helps to bring it down to just dealing with this moment.

I've just realised I'm singing 'singing in the rain to myself', maybe I'm a show tune fan too

7/11 breathing (7 counts in/11 counts out)
ASMR
Anxiety alphabet (I do this with my DS. We go from A to Z thinking of things we love/find funny etc)

Jigsaws

If you can - get up, go to the loo, and take 3 big deep slow breaths 123 in...123 hold... 123 out then shake yourself out, pour yourself a glass of water and continue.
I weirdly find that putting something cold on my forehead for a minute helps sometimes?
Oh and ive been known to just go and stand outside for 5 minutes doing a bit of stretching (not following any pattern, although im sure you could find stuff on youtube! Just like stretching my arms up/out/over and attemping to touch my toes)
Longer term stuff is eating more veg, staying off the sugar and drinking loads of water.

@Haggisfish I'm so getting a jigsaw 🧩

Also, thought of one of my own, making boards on Pinterest of things I like/am lusting after

Throw and catch a tennis ball against a wall.

Online scrabble
My weighed blanket,
my lovely cat, playing with her is great stress relief
doing a jigsaw that isn't too hard,
walking,my favourite is parks with waterfalls or flower gardens or animals
singing my favourite songs
Painting flowers
Watching comedy
Playing Tetris, I can only get to level 15 when I'm not too stressed!

Thanks @Lokikitty I just downloaded the scrabble app! Is that what you use? Great suggestions 😊

This is a thought rather than an action and I just wrote about it on another thread. But it helped me get better from my anxiety crisis (I was very sick suddenly last year and needed serious treatment).

Be careful what you focus on because what you focus on grows'.

So instead of giving time and energy to my negative thoughts, I'd stand up and go give that time and energy to my kids instead, in anyway I felt like. Whether to just sit beside one or ask if they wanted a drink or draw with one or whatever. It really helped me break the cycle of my thoughts and it became my mantra.

Wishing- I like that message.

Rainbowninja - I play Words With Friends online. PM me if you want a game 😊

@WishingHopingThinkingPraying that's such a good mantra, similar to what I've been doing recently - just doing what feels right rather than focusing on the anxiety symptoms

@Lokikitty thank you! Will do 😊

You've had loads of great suggestions - my own faves - exercise (top) logic puzzles, music, writing fan fiction.

I found Acceptance and Commitment Therapy helpful - more so than CBT. I don't think it's "better" than CBT, just that it's more of a fit with my personality.

Also I've learnt to take action early. I used to find it all too easy to spring from a Level Three to a Level Ten anxiety in short order. Now when I feel myself at Level Three I keep busy and make myself do things whether I "feel" like doing them or not.