Some suggestions to help ease anxiety.

It's been about a week since my last post. To be truthful, my anxiety has been pretty high off and on this past week and I have a few insights as to why that I will share with you all soon. However, it made me realize that I wanted to share some techniques that have helped me self-heal my anxiety and bring down the symptoms pretty quickly.

1. Mindful: Since we are all (LESS) mindful when it comes to our anxiety, I learned a technique in a therapy class that has changed my life. There are a million ways to be mindful. However, these are the most helpful to me when I feel the tension rising:

a. Look around you. Find five things you can see, four things you can touch, three things you can hear, two things you can smell, and one thing you can taste. This technique is called grounding, which can help when you feel like you have lost all control of your surroundings.

b. Another technique I use daily, especially in the morning is to pay attention to each meal. When I am eating breakfast, I do it mindfully. Paying close attention to the smell, taste, texture and satisfaction of what I am eating. This allows my mind not to wander and worry about everything that I have to do during the day. When I do this at lunch, it allows me to take my focus off of work for 15 minutes and bring myself back to the present, getting rid of that overwhelming mode from my daily tasks.

c. The last technique that I will share today is when I start feeling out of control, I will take a walk around the building... preferably outside if the weather is nice. I will look for colors of the rainbow in things surrounding me. Green leaves on the trees, a yellow flower, a red car, a purple shirt, an orange building, the blue sky. I will do this for about 15 minutes and it'll usually bring me back down.

2. Journal: Half of the reason that I started this blog is because of how much I like to journal, although I haven't really started the "journalism" side of my journey quite yet. I try to journal almost daily. If my anxiety was extremely bad that day, I try to record everything from how much sleep I got to what I ate during the day. This has allowed me to figure out that I need a good sleep pattern along with a healthy diet that got rid of a lot of sugar. I journal to figure out the source of my anxiety, to get it all out of me and to help me see that I am safe because of all the times that I have thought that I wouldn't make it through the next panic attack.

3. Affirmations: I know, I know.. I have shared this before. However, I swear by it.

I am fearless. I am brave. I am healthy. I am in control. I am safe. I am happy. I am loved. I believe in myself. I am strong. I am beautiful.

Don't allow yourself to hold on to negative thoughts about yourself. Don't allow yourself to focus on the feeling in the moment. Give yourself that positive reinforcement and put your mind there because when we start feeling negative about ourselves, EVERYTHING following that tends to go there and we become out of control.

4. Eating habits: I have found that sugar and caffeine exaggerate my symptoms if I consume too much. I have completely cut out caffeine out of my diet and have felt a huge improvement in my symptoms. I also cut out a lot of sugary products like candy, the best kinds of cereal, sugary drinks among all the other "good stuff". It has been the hardest challenge for me by far. I pushed water into my diet and give myself the challenge of drinking more than I did the day before during the week. Then during the weekend, I will treat myself to a Gatorade or tea. Also pushing a lot more fresh fruits and vegetables into my diet have allowed me to feel 10 times better when I am struggling with bad anxiety. This is just a suggestion but it has been one of the biggest game changers for me!

5. Music: Music can be so healing if you are listening to what makes your soul feel good, what makes your soul dance. Mine is classic rock, country or alternative rock.... it just completely relaxes me, makes my heart happy and does something to my soul that I cannot even begin to explain. It is the most healing thing for me. However, I have ran across some of my favorites that have broken me down and made me cry for hours so you have to be really careful if you have one of those musical souls. One of the songs that I came across on this anxiety journey is Weightless by Macaroni Union. If ever I am feeling overwhelmed or anxious, I listen to it.... it is especially helpful in the middle of the night. They have a 10-hour version that you can just play quietly in bed and it pulls me into a relaxed state.

Find it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYnA9wWFHLI

What helps ease your anxiety? Send me an e-mail so together we can help others!