Happy Monday lovelies! I wanted to write a little post about tips on how I try to feel less anxious. Like I wrote in one of my latest posts, I had felt quite a lot of anxiety during the month of September. Sometimes your mind just tricks you and you start to feel anxious about all sorts of things, even though you are fully aware that there is no reason to be feeling that way. It’s just not something you can stop.

Anxiety and anxiety attacks have been part of my life ever since high school and whenever I go through these phases of feeling anxious there are always a few things I tend to do that help me feel less anxious. I thought I would share some of these things I do, as they might be helpful for those of you who suffer from anxiety, but also to those who do not, as you might be able to help someone in your life who does suffer from anxiety.

Pick your crowd

Whenever I feel anxious I tend to close myself off a bit. My closest friends always seem to notice when I feel like this, because I usually don’t ask them to hang out as much as I normally would. They always know how to drag me outside of the house and they always make me smile and keep my mind from wandering to the less happy spots in my mind.

If you pick the people you would like to hang out with closely, then they will always be able to help lift your mood and make you feel less anxious. Whenever I feel extra anxious, I would usually like to have just my best friends around me, who know how my brain works and how I am when I feel most anxious. I would rather go to them than go to my ‘party friends’ that might not understand how I feel.

Music

Music also always helps me when I feel anxious. Somehow listening to music calms my mind. The music that tends to work best for me, is music I used to listen to while growing up. So this means that I usually end up listening to my personal throwback playlists. It distracts you for a little bit while you’re singing your heart out and dancing all the unhappy and anxious-filled thoughts get away.

Yoga and meditation

Another thing that helps, which is kind of obvious, is yoga and meditation. Whenever I feel anxious and even when I feel stressed I tend to put on either a yoga or meditation video on youtube or via one of the many apps I have downloaded. Yoga and meditation always help me get my thoughts together and help me get back on track. Whenever I finish a session I always feel at peace, which is just what I need when feeling like this.

I am currently still at a point in my life where I don’t feel completely comfortable with going to an actual yoga studio or taking yoga classes by myself. My cousin moved to my hometown in May though, which means that there’s someone whom I could do yoga with is now living only 10 minutes away from me. So I am planning a yoga session with my cousin soon so we can both be a bit more mindful and so mostly I can let go of all the anxiousness in my mind.

Reading

Whenever I read I find myself in a completely different world. Reading to me is like watching a movie. My thoughts are completely turned off and I can pretty much focus on what is going on in my book. This means that it usually also helps me get my anxious thoughts under a wrap. So whenever I feel extra anxious I usually tell myself to just go and read a soppy, happy, romantic story or a thriller so I can just get completely caught up with a book instead of my thoughts.

Walking

Another something that makes me feel less anxious and extremely calm is walking. I always like to go for walks around town, near the beach or in the forest. I usually go for a walk either by myself or with someone. Either I listen to music on my walk or I just listen to my surroundings, what do I hear around me. During these walks I try to be mindful of my surroundings. The app Headspace usually really helps me with this, as they send me daily notifications of how I can be a bit more mindful of my surroundings and myself when I am walking.

Whenever I feel anxious I always have this feeling as if someone is pressing down on my chest, almost as if I can’t breathe. During these walks I always try to also think of my breathing. I like taking in big gulps of air and holding them for a couple of seconds before realising that breath again. I might look like a bit silly to people who pass me, but I find that it really helps. When I am on these walks I can already feel the pressure on my chest lifting and afterwards I always feel so much better.

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