Five Ways to Manage Anxiety

“Anxiety makes depression look like a day at the beach,” a patient told me recently. What he meant was that while fighting depression is all-consuming, anxiety is unbearable because it makes him want to jump right out of his skin. That man spoke for many of us. Managing anxiety is a tall order, but it’s possible. Talk therapy offers sustainable and lasting change by making you aware of what triggers or worsens your anxiety and allows you regain your balance. But in addition, here are immediate, practical tools that can help keep your anxiety in check right now.

Managing anxiety is self-care.

An effective means of confronting anxiety is to develop a series of simple habits that you can rely on. This way, you’ll learn to manage your anxiety over time. Such habits are an act of self-care that research shows improves sleep, concentration, and overall physical health. Learning to manage stress and tension is important for everyone, but it’s crucial if you suffer from debilitating anxiety.

You already may be in the anxiety-management habit without knowing it. If you go on a walk to clear your head; take 20 minutes away from your computer to look out the window; or catch a quick nap before cooking dinner, you’ve already got tools to manage anxiety.

Five simple steps make up a toolkit.

Tools for getting a grip on anxiety should be things that are doable—and maybe even enjoyable.

1. Be physically active

You’ve heard it before: Exercise helps your brain work better and offers release from the physical symptoms of anxiety. Whatever physical activity you choose, it should be easy to work into your daily schedule. A half hour raking leaves and weeding the garden? Done. A brisk 15-minute walk to your neighbor’s to return a book? Check. Ten minutes of squats, crunches, and push-ups? Good going.

2. Practice mindfulness

Mindfulness meditation can sound intimidating, but practicing it can be simple as setting a timer for two minutes while you do nothing but focus on your breath as it goes in and out, in and out. In that moment, this sole focus is the only thing that matters. Numerous studies confirm the calming effect of mindfulness on your autonomic nervous system (the one that controls physiological functions). It also confers a greater overall sense of being in your body.

There’s more to mindfulness, which can be as easy as paying closer attention to your sensory world: The aroma of an orange being peeled; the sound of your footfall on a hiking trail; the texture of your favorite towel; the leaves of an oak tree shot through with light on a sunny day.

3. Connect to others

We’re living in times of unprecedented anxiety: In a world undergoing a global health crisis, divisive politics, and financial instability, gatherings are fraught with risk. When you’re wound up with tension about your own life or the state of society writ large, the common tendency is to isolate yourself. While there’s no substitute for sitting with those you care about and getting hugs from people you love (with luck, we’ll be getting back to those pleasures soon) community is possible with regularly scheduled phone calls, Zoom dinners, FaceTime chats, and virtual meetups.

4. Write a to-do list that’s doable

Making a list to get organized and be less overwhelmed by all you have going on can be a great way to keep anxiety at bay. But in the push to satisfy others’ needs as well as your own, life gets jammed. An excess of items on a to-do list creates stress and worry. Take time to figure out what on the list might be ratcheting up your anxiety. Can you make adjustments to give yourself more breathing room? What has to be done right now? What can wait until tomorrow, next week, or next year? What can be done by someone else? If the people-pleaser in you is gets anxious at the prospect of saying no, you’re not alone—you’re human.

5. Make an affirmations recording

Certain therapies train you to counter negative thoughts with positive ones. That’s great, but it’s targeting the rational, top part of the brain, while anxiety is driven by the deeper-down emotional brain. Emotional distress, which originates from the deep brain, must be treated first. Make a recording—here’s the important part—of your own voice, not someone else’s. It can be as simple as, “I am strong, I am flexible, I am capable, I am resilient, and I can manage my anxiety,” repeated to fill up five minutes time. Listen before you go to sleep, so the thoughts can make their way to your deeper consciousness. A colleague who was plagued by panic attacks while studying for her licensing exam did this every night for the five days leading up to the test (she passed).

Why therapy?

Weekly therapy sessions will help you identify the root causes of your anxiety. You’ll gain increased awareness of destructive, knee-jerk thoughts so that you can push against them and develop kinder ways to talk to yourself. You’ll master tools like these that are yours to use at any moment you need them. You’ll claim a deeper sense of who you are, and when you do that, you’ll strengthen your connection to yourself and others.

If you’re interested in learning more about my approach to anxiety treatment, let’s talk. Call me at 213-807-6021 to arrange a free, 20-minute consultation.