Disclosure: Healing anxiety does take time and can often be more complicated than simply practicing coping strategies. However, learning to cope with your anxiety is a crucial part of the healing process and can assist with carrying out your daily responsibilities.

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It’s important to note that before we learn to cope with our anxiety, we must first become familiar with how anxiety shows up in our life and to identify what tends to trigger those anxious feelings. Without these first two steps, it may be difficult to recognize when it would be helpful to practice any type of anxiety relief strategy.

Once you learn a bit about what anxiety looks like and feels like, a good starting point to identifying which strategies may be most helpful for you is to begin rating your anxiety on a scale of 0-10 (10 being the most intense anxiety).

Rating your anxiety allows you to:

1. Label it

2. Respond to it neutrally and

3. Helps you to gauge how intense your anxiety is feeling in the moment you rate it

Getting an idea of how intense the anxiety is feeling will be a good indicator for which types of strategies might be most helpful for you. For instance, if anxiety feels lower and more manageable, perhaps a meditation would be beneficial. If anxiety feels more intense, movement, grounding and more body-based strategies would likely help more. Ultimately, you get to be the judge of what is most helpful for you for the various levels of anxiety you experience. Yes, this will take some time, patience and trial and error; however, the truth of the matter is that you are the expert when it comes to how anxiety is feeling in your body and what helps the most.

Below is a list of activities and calming practices to help you care for yourself through anxious times.

Please note that any and all techniques noted as anxiety relief strategies are not intended to eliminate your anxiety. Anxiety is a natural response when your mind identifies a threat. These strategies are meant to help you care for yourself while allowing your mind and body time to begin feeling safe again.

Anxiety Relief Techniques

1. Box Breathing

2. Deep Breathing

3. Meditation

4. Fidget Toys

5. Go for a walk

6. Go for a run

7. Spend time in nature

8. Implement a dedicated time to worry

9. Write down your worries and fears

10. Rate your anxiety on a scale of 0-10 (10 being the most anxiety you can imagine feeling)

11. Journal about your thoughts and feelings

12. Educate yourself on where anxiety comes from

13. Talk to a trusted friend, loved-one or professional about your anxiety

14. Use aromatherapy (Here is my favorite on-the-go essential oil blend)

15. Practice progressive muscle relaxations

16. Make sure to stay fed and hydrated

17. Do your best to get 8 hours of quality sleep per night

18. Cover yourself with a weighted blanket

19. Take short breaks throughout your day

20. Take a warm bath

21. Practice mindfulness throughout your day

22. Listen to calming music

23. Color in a coloring book

24. Clean a room in your house/apartment

25. Work on a paint by numbers art project

26. Work on a puzzle

27. Set a timer for 5 minutes and start a project you have been procrastinating on

28. Engage in a Brain Dump - Write down your to-do list items, responsibilities and any thoughts running through your mind. There doesn’t have to be any rhyme, reason or structure to this. Just take some time to get everything in your mind down on paper

29. Create and/or review compassionate statements you have written to yourself

30. Make a cup of warm, herbal tea

31. Spend a few minutes praying - If spirituality or religion is an important part of your life, praying in the midst of fear has the opportunity to bring comfort

32. Practice gratitude - Try to come up with 5-10 things you are thankful for. Think about your relationships, your person growth, your basic needs being taken care of, experiencing your favorite weather, making someone laugh, feeling fully known, etc.

33. Learn to crochet or embroider

34. Draw whatever comes to mind on a plain sheet of paper

35. Engage in a Body Scan

36. Practice observing your thoughts

37. Spend time with your pet(s)

38. Water the plants inside/outside of your home

39. Do some gardening

40. Use all 5 of your senses to experience your environment

41. Practice mindful eating

42. Draw shapes on a plain piece of paper, outline them with a marker and then cut them out

43. Bounce a ball

44. Play a sport

45. Lift weights

Remember, you are the expert in your own experience and you get to decide which activities are most calming and relaxing for you. None of these practices are meant to eliminate your anxiety, but instead are geared towards helping your mind and body feel safe as you work to accept the presence and purpose of your anxiety.

If you’d like individualized assistance to help you understand and find freedom from your anxiety, you can fill out our brief questionnaire or skip the wait and schedule your free 15-minute phone consultation.