If you are looking for techniques for anxiety relief from someone that gets it, this post is for you.
Anxiety Disorder is what the paper said when I opened up my bill. I brought the bill into my therapist’s office and asked her why she diagnosed me with this. I told her I have depression.
She confirmed to me that I’m not depressed, but my symptoms are anxiety.
I was in my 20’s at the time, trying to figure out life, but those little words made me dig.
Dig into what Generalized Anxiety Disorder is, and techniques for anxiety relief.
Well, I absolutely struggle with anxiety, and if you ask all my friends, they will tell you, I worry a lot! However, I have learned a few coping techniques to help me deal with anxious thoughts, worst case scenarios, and ways that help me sleep at night.
Grounding Techniques
Grounding techniques are something I learned in therapy. It’s a coping skill to help deal with the anxiety in the current moment.
There are many different types of grounding techniques, but I really like the 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
It’s pointing out 5 things you see, 4 things you feel, 3 things you hear, 2 things you smell and 1 thing you taste.
I modified mine, and I do one thing I feel, one thing I hear, one thing I smell, and one thing I taste.
I also will go outside in my bare-feet in the grass.
They say this helps with anxiety, stress level, and helps with sleep.
Using these techniques for anxiety relief are helpful when you are feeling anxious.
Exercising
Exercise is known to help anxiety. Exercising could be anything from walking, to running, weight training, anything at all that gets your body moving.
I go to gymnastics once a week on Sundays, and I try to exercise in some form the other days of the week.
Journaling
Journaling helps you get your feelings, thoughts, and write out the worst case scenarios on paper. A free PDF is included for journaling prompts for anxiety for you to use.
I will write worse case scenarios in my journal and compare the truth to the worse case scenarios.
I will say, there has never been any truth to the worst case scenarios that I have managed to think inside of my brain.
It really helps to see the scenarios on paper. It’s your way of challenging your brain’s thoughts.
Music
When I get anxious and it becomes overwhelming, I listen to music. One of my favorite songs is Walking On Sunshine.
I mean, who can continue to be anxious while listening to that song?
Listening to music can help you reduce stress and help your mood.
Trust Jesus
Trusting Jesus when you are struggling can be hard, but what I learned from therapy is anxiety is your brain’s way of controlling your world or the part you want to control.
I remember when I got my medical diagnosis, and I asked God why he did this to me. I didn’t hear anything at first because I was an emotional mess. My anxiety was the worst it’s been. I had anxiety because of the fear I had.
I didn’t want God to take away the one thing I want more than anything.
One day, when I was crying, I asked God again why he do this to me, but this time I just didn’t ask anything else. I just cried. All I heard is that, “I didn’t, man did.”
It was gut wrenching to hear those words, but they were true.
It gave me some form of an answer I needed at the time. I like to think these techniques are little gifts from God to help his children cope.
Next time when you become anxious, try these techniques for anxiety relief. Try listening to your favorite song (you can borrow mine, it’s fine), take your shoes off and walk on the grass, exercise, journal, and trust God.
