Coping With Anxiety 101
While it is important to protect ourselves physically, our mental health also requires attention. That includes understanding our feelings and anxiety. With all the negativity and toxicity surrounding the world, we shouldn’t only focus on the coronavirus during the pandemic. Here are some ways of coping with anxiety during the pandemic.
To help with anxiety, try to take a break from social media.
Social media may connect us to our loved ones and friends, but sometimes, everything feels suffocating. That’s when it is best to have some time away from your phone. Before going off the grid for a few days, inform your family, friends, and colleagues of your situation and that you need to take some time off from social media. Drop your contact details if ever they need to message you something important, such as your email or phone number. Afterward, log out from all your accounts and try to sit in a comfortable position. Pick a feel-good movie and make popcorn. Try to focus on yourself first for a few days, rest all you can but also keep yourself busy.
Exercise or meditate at home.
Through exercise and meditation, you hit two birds with one stone. It keeps you physically active and it jumpstarts your energy and mental health. Exercising and meditating ward off negative thoughts. It preoccupies you and reduces stress. A solid 30-minute workout session or a 10-minute walk will greatly help your physical and mental well-being. Once your body responds well to your exercise regimen, it will release endorphins or the happy hormone. On the other hand, meditation can be done through yoga, or simply relaxing and taking deep breaths. Being one with nature can help clear your mind. Meditation can raise your self-awareness, improve your mental well-being, and increase your self-esteem and confidence. It will help you calm down and feel more refreshed.
Try journaling to help process anxiety.
Writing is one of the best kinds of therapies out there. Through writing, you can release all anxiety. Journaling can make you understand the root of your problems and sort them out. Through journaling, you can keep track of your anxiety attacks and your triggers, so that you can stay away from these negative things and try to control them. Journaling doesn’t necessarily mean that you must write a Pulitzer-worthy piece. Instead, it allows you to write anything. You may write about your everyday thoughts, worries, fears, problems, joys, and triumphs. In journaling, you don’t have to please anybody. Write whatever you want to write. Apart from that, you can share your journal with your therapist, family, and friends but the choice depends solely on you. Once you read your entries, you will realize how long you’ve gone. They could serve as an inspiration, giving you the strength to conquer more.
Spend time with your family and loved ones – whether personally or through the screen.
Nothing feels better than having dinner with your family, video calling your friends, and calling your loved ones. The pandemic has halted your hang-out schedules, planned out-of-town trips, and coffee dates, but nowadays, you can video call them. Venting out and sharing your anxious thoughts with your friends can help you sort your feelings. Your family can also help manage your stress. Bond with them. Share stories and have movie marathons with them. During those moments, your heart will feel secure, loved, and supported. You will begin to feel that you’re not alone in this battle and that you have a whole battalion with you. You are not alone, warrior.
Rekindling an old hobby helps with anxiety.
To cope with anxiety, you can try to look back on the past hobbies that you’ve abandoned. Pick up your old guitar, your dusty paintbrushes, or your trusty cookbooks. Hobbies give you a sense of progress and provide satisfaction. They help you grow and know yourself on a deeper level. Because your skills may be a bit rusty and outdated, trying is already a big step. Whether the song comes off as gutsy, your painting has sloppy brushwork, or your dish is too salty for your taste, embrace it. After all, the important thing is to keep doing them. You loved doing them at some point in your life, so why not try to rekindle that love once more? Hobbies help ease your mind and unwind your battered soul.
Always remember that there are different ways of coping with anxiety, and not every person adapts to therapy. In the end, you choose what way suits you best. You owe yourself a chance to awaken the challenger and fighter in you. Maybe you are just waiting for a chance to stand up for yourself. Mental health is a bittersweet battle but you owe yourself a chance to try. You owe yourself a chance to muster the courage to lurch through your anxiety and protect your mental health. Want to read more articles like this? Click here.
