This year has been a pretty unusual one to say the least. If these times have caused you to experience stress or anxiety, trust me you are not alone.
Stress and anxiety thrive in moments like this. It is our brains natural response to panic and question everything, specially when things are completely out the norm.
The problem with this is that when our brain is rambling on with endless questions, and stories that answer them, it can become paralyzing. Becoming paralyzed in uncertain times is not the best thing to do. It can worsen the symptoms of stress or anxiety and take a toll on your mind and body.
It is important to be mindful and intentional about pushing through moments of anxiety and stress.
How you push through is totally up to you, but because I have some tricks in my bag I want to share them with you, and you may add them to your bag of tricks if you’d like.
To push through stress and anxiety I,
1) Talk to them
Huh, what talk to them? Yeah, I know it sounds a little crazy, but it totally works for me. I ask myself why I am feeling anxious or stressed. I hold space to feel my emotions and try to understand where they are coming from. Sometimes I repeat a positive mantra that may help expel the negative thoughts or re-frame my way of thinking.
2) Get out of bed
This is for those days when I wake up feeling anxious. I woke up feeling anxious a few of weeks ago when I started grad school. I was nervous about going on a new campus and meeting new people (which can be totally normal b.t.w). I knew that if laid in bed and ruminated over these thoughts I would never get up on time, so I just got up and got moving one step at a time. I asked my Alexa speaker to play some music to get the energy flowing, and my day was on it’s way.
3) Get my body moving
Exercise releases natural chemicals in your body that make you happy and give you a burst of energy. In times of stress and anxiety I love to move my body. What is great about this trick is that it can be easily improvised and utilized no matter where I am. So, whether I bike a mile, jump in place, or Tik Tok it works!
4) Get my mind moving
With the understanding that my brains main goal in life is to keep me safe, I know that I cannot always lean into its endless worrying and questioning. So, I journal. Journaling helps me organize my thoughts and respond to them instead of reacting to them. When I journal, I clear my mind by moving negative thoughts and feelings out of my head and onto a piece paper. The act of doing this creates space in my head for thoughts that will be benefit me instead.
5) Deep breathing
Deep breathing sends a message to your brain that everything is o.k and creates a sense of calm. I use box breathing as my technique, but just plain old deep breathing will help! This trick is another one that can be used anytime anywhere.
6) Understand my triggers
While I was an undergrad, I took a course that should have been called KNOW THYSELF. I cannot remember the actual name but as you can tell, it was a course that really helped me to get to know myself. Boy was it life changing. Knowing my triggers has helped me come a long way with my negative emotions. Understanding my triggers helps me to plan, confront my feelings, and puts things into perspective.
7) Gave the negative voice in my head a name
This is a new one for me. I learned it from a professor recently. I named the negative voice in my head Janice. The more mindful and conscious I am about having an amazing day, the easier it becomes to notice when Janice is creeping around trying to ruin it. In these moments I just simply say “Janice not today”, sometimes I even laugh at her a bit.
And yes, I named her Janice like Chandler’s ex-girlfriend on the show Friends.
So, there you have it friends! 7 easy tricks to ease stress and anxiety. I hope that some work for you.
Let me know down in the comment sections what steps you take to ease your stress and anxiety.
Until next time.
Stay true,
Jen
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