Tips to Beat Anxiety

Five quick techniques I use to calm down when I feel anxious

I am a very intense person and I feel all of my emotions extremely deeply. Whether I am angry, sad, happy or anxious, I can easily become overwhelmed and consumed by the experience. I used to turn to distractions to find relief, but nowadays after learning and practicing mindfulness I have found ways to overcome negative emotions when they appear. The most important thing to realize about emotions is that you cannot escape them forever. No matter how good at mindfulness you are, you are bound to experience anxious moments from time to time. In this day and age, what with our fast-paced lives and the way society is structured around work, it is natural to experience stress multiple times a week or even a day.

Many techniques such as journaling, are super helpful, but time consuming and not always practical when on-the-go. However, I have found five techniques that improve my mood and sense of peacefulness whenever anxiety happens to arise. Oftentimes, as followers of a mindful lifestyle, we think that we are supposed to be in a permanent state of bliss like Buddha was when he reached enlightenment. It was a life changing experience for me to realize that the path to enlightenment will include many emotional experiences that have to be dealt with one way or another. Once I had accepted that I will feel stressed sometimes on my journey, I was able to plan ahead for these situations, so that I now have some emotional coping tools and strategies to use when they do. I would like to share these incredible techniques with you in the hope that they can make a difference in your life too!

Meditate

One of the most common misconceptions about meditation is that it requires a lot of time and that you need to be seated and preferably alone. Of course, if you are already seated when the feelings of anxiety arise, then you can remain where you are and meditate in a seated position. Luckily for us, there are many different types of meditation to choose from, thousands actually! So whether you are on public transport, walking in the streets or in a busy supermarket, you can choose one of these techniques and practice it. My favorite form of meditation when I feel anxious is to simply observe my thoughts. Often the same thought repeats itself over and over again, for example "I have so much to do." So, I notice this and then I try to detach myself from the emotion by making sure I do not identify with it or give it some type of storyline. I ask my mind if it is useful to repeat the same thought over and over again and if it won't stop, I will choose to refocus and to use a second form of meditation. I either repeat a mantra to myself for a few minutes, or I practice deep breathing.


Take          Action

Continue with your life. Do not give your energy to the emotion by trying to figure it out. Instead of seeing the emotion as coming from inside of me, I see the emotions as external entities, demons and tricksters that have to be fought. This realization alone has made a huge difference in my life. I now know that the emotion has no power over me unless I believe the lies it tells me. Emotions are irrational and they enter our minds with many tricks to try and get us to give up, or to become overwhelmed by the deceitful stories they tell us about ourselves. Know that you are stronger than the emotion. The demon of anxiety can be overcome with the intellect. I accept the feeling one hundred percent and I remind myself that the emotion is temporary and will go away in an hour or two. Then I say to myself "Okay, I feel stressed out. What can I do about it?" Next, I choose to instead focus on something else. This could either be the task at hand, or it could be one of the other five techniques. It is not always possible to use all of the techniques depending on where you are, so choose the ones that work for you in your situation. Be assured that if you shift your focus, you will still be able to do what you need to do as you wait for the anxiety to pass.

Drink          Water

This tip is an absolute life saver for me! The beauty of water is that you can take it with you wherever you go. It is easily portable and no one will ever tell you that you may not drink it. You can sip on it during a meeting or work function, at a friend's house, on public transport, in the midst of a busy supermarket or even while you are walking the streets. Water is a purifying liquid that promotes numerous health benefits. After all, we are made up of approximately sixty percent water. In astrology, water as one of the five elements is symbolic of emotions and the ability to go with the flow instead of becoming "waterlogged" by thoughts and emotions. It is used by almost every culture and spiritual faith in purifying rituals, so it makes sense that it can only help to cleanse your body's system of unwanted emotions. I have personally found the practice of drinking water to be extremely soothing. The physical sensation of drinking the water somehow grounds me and connects me to my body when I am stuck in my mind. We are supposed to drink two liters of water a day, so sip away your anxiety as you aim for your daily water intake!

Google          inspirational quotes

This is another fabulous tip, great for an on-the-go situation. Like most people, I always carry my phone with me, and given that it has instant access to a vast world of knowledge - this makes it the perfect tool for quick inspiration when I am feeling overwhelmed. Sometimes this can help with accepting an emotion. For example, if you type "quotes about anxiety" into the search engine, the first quote that appears is "Fear is inevitable, I have to accept that, but I cannot allow it to paralyze me." I find this quote extremely encouraging, soothing and helpful! To speed up the search, you can click on the image section after you have typed in your quote keywords and you will be able to instantly absorb hundreds of quotes that appear in pretty images. Some of my favorite keywords to use when I search for quotes include: inspiration, encouragement, comfort, peace, happiness, love, determination, courage and focus, but you can search for anything that resonates with you! I am currently in the process of creating a book where I write down all of my favorite quotes that I have found and saved on my phone and I intend to read it every morning.


Engage          the Senses

The last tip here includes a few beautiful ways to calm down, that I like to use if I have a little more time or freedom - for example, if I am at home. As we can never predict when anxiety will arise, and it might be for no particular reason, sometimes the mood strikes over the weekend or during our "downtime". If this happens, my first choice is to light some incense or a scented candle and meditate for twenty minutes. If I am getting ready for the day and feeling stressed already, I also light some incense, say a little prayer and continue to prepare for the tasks ahead. I also find that playing music is extremely soothing in all situations. If you carry your earphones with you, you can use this tip while on-the-go as well, and if you are lucky even at work. Spend a little time thinking about what type of music you want to listen to, as choosing the right mix for your mood can make all the difference. Make sure that if you choose music with lyrics that the words carry a positive message or you could listen to instrumental tracks instead. Try to choose uplifting melodies, like meditation tunes, classical music or even electronic dance music for a more energetic experience. If you have some extra time, consider having a refreshing shower or relaxing bath and again using the element of water to purify your emotional state.

I hope you find these tips as useful and life changing as I have! Be kind and patient with yourself as you learn to turn these techniques into wonderful new habits!