Calming Your Anxiety During These Times

Before I get started on this post I would just quickly like to point out that I am by no means an expert! I have simply had anxiety for quite a few years. This means that in my time I have found some techniques that work for me and some that don't. 

Over the last few weeks my Twitter and Instagram feeds have been filled with people saying how anxious they are about the current situation. Obviously I can't say where everyone's anxiety has come from but I know that some of mine has come from the fact that I am so out of control of this whole situation. I can only do what I can do- socially distance and stick to the rules. Otherwise we are relying on each other to stick to the rules to ensure that we can get out of this situation as soon as it is safely possible to do so. A lot of my anxiety also comes from health anxiety. Living through a pandemic is the ideal situation for health anxiety to fester. My health anxiety also tends to come rear it's head when I don't have much else to think about. Again, meaning that lockdown has been an ideal time for my health anxiety to fester away. Although my anxiety comes and goes in waves I try to implement things consistently to try and keep it at bay. 

I hope that some of the things that I do can also work for you! If they don't then do not worry (the irony). Different things will work for different people! 

Sleep

Let's get the most boring one out the way! It is so so important to at least try and get a decent night's sleep. There are a few things that I do to try and get to sleep. The first thing is to get rid of my phone and other electronic devices. Put them on the other side of the room or even in another room. It's so important to detox from blue light at night time. I do tend to keep my ipad near me but I have it on the warmest setting possible. I keep it near me because I like to listen to a podcast! I also set an alarm for the same time every morning in order to try and force me into a routine. 

Keeping a journal 

I've been doing this for about two years now. Although I haven't been doing it everyday for the last 2 years I do it when I need to. Sometimes just putting things down to paper is a good way to get them out your system. Even writing things down and then burning them can help (promise I'm not a pyromaniac). Don't just keep your journal and then never look back at it again. Write on the good days, write on the bad days. On the good days look back at the bad days and recognise how far you've come. Nothing is linear but you will start to see that there are hopefully more good days than bad. 

Counting back from 100 in 7s

Call me crazy but this is really something that helps. It's called serial sevens and is a test often used for testing people with suspected cases of dementia. I use this technique when I am having a panic attack because it just takes my mind out of the spiral of thoughts that led me to the panic attack. Sometimes panic attacks do occasionally hit me from no where but even then this technique can help because it can help steady your breathing. You're probably thinking that it's a load of rubbish and won't work. And to be honest this is what I thought when I was first told to do this. But I promise you this might be able to help you. 

Mindfulness

I started doing mindfulness 3/4 years ago, when I was at school Although it is not something that I do everyday, there are still things that I carry with me from mindfulness. If I find myself getting very anxious I remind myself that I'm healthy and have people around me who love me. This is something that I learnt from a mindfulness tape. When I do want to do some mindfulness I tend to change up the exercises that I do. There are so many great ones on YouTube. I would also recommend the Calm and Headspace apps. As I said, I only do mindfulness occasionally but when I do it, it really centres me and reminds me to stay in the present moment. 

Speaking to your loved ones 

Sometimes our own thoughts can lead to us feeling really alone and like we're the only ones feeling anxious. If you speak to anyone about the world at the moment, I'm sure they will also tell you that they have at some point felt anxious about it. Just telling someone else and getting the weight off your chest can really help. I've seen so many people with a profile talking about their anxiety during these times. I have also seen my friends talking about their anxiety on their social media platforms and it makes me feel so happy that we are living in a society where people can be open about their mental health. There are still many things that need to change in our society but there has been so much progression in the way that people talk about their mental health. 

If you need a day in bed...then take that day in bed

Your anxiety will not get better if you don't listen to your body and take the time off when you need to. If you're like me and don't have a great deal going on at the moment then it might not be hard to just spend the day lounging around in bed. My best advice would to be fill your day with the people you want (and are allowed) to see and then when you really need to have a day to yourself then take that day for yourself. Sometimes we just need to stop everything and have time for ourselves. This could lead to you feeling guilty but in the long run having a day off can be really helpful. 

Avoid Caffeine 

Boring, I know. But I can absolutely tell when I've had three cups of coffee in the morning. It really does send my anxiety levels through the roof. I have one cup of caffeinated coffee in the morning and then for the rest of the day I drink decaf tea. If you are a keen coffee drinker and don't want to give it up then I wouldn't be drinking it into the afternoon. You might not react in the same way to caffeine but after a lot of coffee on a Monday morning I was shaking by 11am! 

Exercise

I'm not talking running a marathon every morning because I certainly do not do that. I'm talking a gentle jog at a push but more likely a quick walk. Everyday I try my absolute best to get up and get out the house for an hour. This could be walk in the park with a friend or a walk on your own to clear your head. It's so important to get away from your desk or away from your normal environment. 

There's probably a whole lot more I could add to this list but I don't want to bore you. I really hope that some of these things can help you in some way. If you find that something from this list works then please spread the word.