10 Ways To Cope With Anxiety

Bella Breakdown

Do you need a little extra help dealing with your persistent worries? Maybe it’s time to try some new tactics in facing your anxiety. One psychologist gives us some innovative, and even a little strange, advice on how to best cope with anxiety.

1. Repititon: Take the thought and repeat it for over 20 minutes. This repetition will create a boredom, therefor eliminating the need to worry about it.
2. Do it: Make it worse by simply doing what you’re afraid of. Naturally, you will see that the fear over the thought was much greater than just simply acting out the thought.
3. You’re not crazy: Don’t treat your fears or anxiety as crazy thoughts. Everybody has these thoughts. Treat them like an object on a shelf, and move on from them.
4. Notice false alarms: Recognize these and learn your triggers. Think of them as a fire engine going elsewhere. Then simply let them pass by.
5. Be an observer: Think of yourself as an observer of your thoughts, not actually as your thoughts. Watch your thoughts like a show, detaching yourself from the worry and possession of them.
6. Set time for worrying: Give yourself ‘worry time’ during the day, where you set aside a chunk of time to worry. When that time comes, you may find you really don’t have anything bothering you!
7. Surrender: Take your hand off of the proverbial horn. Surrender to the moment, and allow yourself to let go of the need to control everything.
8. Breathing techniques: Practice different breathing exercises to help calm your mind. Focus on matching your breath and your mind.
9. Time is your friend: Make peace with time. Ask yourself where you will be in a month from now, or even a year….this too shall pass.
10. Live your life: Don’t let your anxiety take control of your happiness. Continue to live life! Understand that worrying is natural, trust the process, and allow yourself the freedom to by joyful.