What do you do to help a bad anxiety day?

[Hettywins]

Anxiety is so bad today - no real reason but I can feel it like it's pushing down in my chest, worries about work, being a bad friend or a bad mum and million other small things.

Usually I'm a really productive busy person but when I have days like this it makes me so unproductive and uncommunicative, I can't even verbalise out loud what's wrong when my husband asks me. I came upstairs to work to get ahead of next week but took a nap instead (very unlike me) which obviously now I feel worse about. I have just made a cup of tea and listening to storm/rain sounds as I fire up the laptop to try and work.

Does anyone have any tips to snap out of it?

@Hettywins

Sorry today is bad for you. I had about three days at the beginning of the week like this and it's been awful
So I know exactly how your feeling right now.

Scrolling on my phone wasn't enough to distract my mind so I settled down on one evening and watched all the new episodes of time on iPlayer.

Was totally engrossed and that really helped.

I also have a jigsaw app on my iPad so sat doing that but during the day has been really busy but still not enough to stop my rushing mind so I stuck my headphones on and listened to some podcasts.

That really helped.

I tell myself in my mind that it will calm down and I literally have to take each hour as it comes.

A few big things came all at once last weekend and I think that was what tipped it for me so in my mind I face each thing head on and that helps to stop catastrophising enough to calm me for that period of time.

A massive hand hold op it's a fucking awful thing to suffer with and it does tend to make me very agitated that it happens. Xxx

I do some form of exercise, even if it's the last thing I want to do, have to really force myself sometimes. But it really does help.

I second doing some exercise.

Also listening to some sort of relaxing music or guided meditation.

Not quite the same thread title, but you might get a few ideas from this thread I started last week: https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/feeling_depressed/4931334-anxiety-and-being-worse-in-the-mornings?page=1

I also second this:

A massive hand hold op it's a fucking awful thing to suffer with

Sorry you’re having a bad day. Sometimes it’s impossible to concentrate on anything or anyone when anxiety rears it’s horrible head.
I find I just have to put the TV on & try & watch something comforting from the past. Another option is the Calm app. There is an SOS section for anxiety which highlights breathing.
In the end I resort to A/D which I know will help me after a few weeks.
Sending you a hand hold.

Exercise if you can face it.

I also find recording my anxiety level out of ten - I do this each day (or did when it was bad) or even twice a day, so I can see that though it is bad sometimes, it isn’t forever.

One foot in front of another. It’s horrible. X

Go for a run
Go for a walk
Do some baking
Watch something gripping on TV (murder stuff weirdly makes me feel better!)
Do a guided meditation on YouTube
Tidy and sort out a cupboard or drawer
Clean the house
Play the piano
Go shopping