6 Practices to Fight Anxiety
Wouldn’t it be great if this was a comprehensive study on anxiety giving you not only the history of it in culture and medicine, but also giving you scientific ways to deal with it and hopefully, defeat it (anxiety truly feels like a giant in need of a defeat at times). It would be SO helpful if I was a trained doctor, counselor, or even someone who has conquered anxiety for myself!
This is not that, and I am not that but here is a great article if you are looking for a more comprehensive essay: A history of anxiety: from Hippocrates to DSM by Marc-Antoine Crocq, MD https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4610616/
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Heres an essay about my life dealing with anxiety and some helpful tips I use to combat it daily. I ought to first give some context to my anxiety before I give any solutions. I never thought I had anxiety until a few years ago it hit me like a train. I had an incident that landed me in the hospital and in some pretty rough shape. Such rough shape that I am still daily dealing with the fallout of said incident. Since then, I’ve taken time to look back at where I have felt anxiety growing up (more on this later) and I began to see a pattern of anxiety revolving around social situations and death. I can see times where I had full on anxiety attacks and had no idea what was going on. I didn’t even have the language to describe what was happening so I could ask others for help, not that I would have. As I grew older and into more serious situations, the anxiety only intensified. There were so many days I would wake up and it felt like my heart just got shot out of a cannon. So many times that I couldn’t breathe or get control of my mind. It got to a point where I would have anxiety attacks over the thought of anxiety attacks. I would begin to get anxious over the possibility of having a panic attack and not knowing what to do. This made traveling almost impossible and my job required me to travel. Life was just terrible and if I am honest, I did not know how much more of it I could handle. My anxiety felt all consuming and I had no control of my mind. I can confidently say, it was the worst time of my life!
All of this to say, I have had quite a journey with anxiety and it continues to this day. Fortunately, I have a lot of my anxiety under control and it feels so much more manageable than it ever has. I want to share 6 Practices that I have incorporated into my life that have made a 180 degree difference in my daily anxiety. Some of these you may have hard a thousand times, others may be new to you, either way, these have changed my life and have the possibility of changing yours too. Enjoy! (Also these are in no particular order)
Practice 1: Exercise
Exercise is something I loved to do when I was younger, but only because it was apart of sports. After the competitive sports part of my life was over, I stopped exercising for years. One of the first things I was advised to do when my anxiety really ramped up was exercise as often as I can. I brushed this off at first as a lame attempt to make me healthier hoping this would affect my crippling anxiety. Boy was I wrong. I have implemented strength training and running into my daily life and it makes all the difference. The mental clarity that I get from a hard workout is like nothing I get from any other practice. There of course is all sorts of science behind this explaining why physical exertion leads to lessened levels of anxiety, so here is a study by Harvard that dives into this exact thing https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/can-exercise-help-treat-anxiety-2019102418096 .
I am sure that this is not the optimal training schedule to decrease anxiety, but it works for me and I am not interested in pouring hours into finding the perfect schedule. Of course the following training can be built up to and beyond.
-10,000 steps a day (I have an active job, it makes this easy)
-20 miles a week running (I split this up into 3 runs usually)
-4 days a week weight-training (I am currently doing a lot of kettlebell circuit work, there are plenty of kettlebell workouts online. Try to workout for about an hour)
-Yoga (I have lacked on this HARD recently, usually doing 3 night a week for about 30 minutes each)
Practice 2: Goal Setting/To-Do
Yes, I am a huge believer in long term goals and daily to-do lists. Maybe it is the crazy ADD speaking or the need to accomplish, either way, having long and short term goals are crucial to keep your mind present, but working towards purpose.
I have a few long term goals that I am always working towards that are typically 1-5 years. These are physical goals, personal goals, and vocational goals. I have these written down everywhere to remind me of the big picture that I am working every day towards. Seriously everywhere though, I put them on posted notes and stick them in high trafficked areas of my life. This gives me purpose in the little things I do, no matter how menial the task, I know it is a stepping stone to my big goals.
I also write a to-do list almost every day. I write really simple things as well as big tasks I need to get done. Sometimes I even write things down that I have already accomplished so I can cross them off the list. Feels so good! This keeps me focused on the task at hand and gives me purpose in the moment. If I am honest, sometimes what I need to curb my anxiety is something to keep my mind busy. My to-do list gives me a literal list of things I need to get done that day and will always give me a chance to keep my mind off of anxious thoughts, and in whatever task I am doing. Also if I don’t write things down I forget and I end up cashing a check in 8 months after it was written. Whoops.
Practice 3: Breath Work
This one is simple. When you increase your breathing you are increasing your heart rate which gives you a feeling of anxiety. There is a lot more science but that’s the gist. This practice is called box breathing. Use this when you are full on panicking, as well as when you are feeling a little bit of anxiety day to day.
Take a deep breathe in through your nostrils for 4 seconds,
Hold in your lungs for 4 seconds,
Breathe out through pursed lips for 4 seconds,
Hold no air for 4 seconds.
Repeat many times.
Practice 4: Alcohol & Drugs
If you are in the middle of severe panic episodes for prolonged times, just don’t drink or do any drugs (of course ask a doctor or whatever). These substances are going to offset all of the work you are doing to avoid anxiety and slingshot you into deeper panic after you come down from them. I have also noticed that many people who struggle from anxiety also have some addictive tendencies. Just don’t do it!
But some people can enjoy and be able to stop.
There is nothing wrong with substances in moderation, but you have to understand the consequences. Cutting way back on your substances is a great way to initially get your anxiety under control and set a baseline. After that, feel free to do whatever you want, but always keep in mind if you start to use substances to cover up for your anxiety or as a response to it. It is a slippery slope, but one that you can travel well if you use enough forethought.
Practice 5: Prayer/Meditation/Solitude
This is a huge one for me. Prayer, meditation, and solitude. All of these are interchangeable, or complimentary if you choose so, depending on your beliefs. I suppose I fall in the complimentary camp and utilize all of these. I am a follower of Jesus so I spend time in solitude and prayer, meditating on the words of Jesus as often as I can. But no matter your beliefs, taking time to quiet your mind and body, and focus on yourself or something higher is key. Anxiety creates a thunderstorm in your mind and you need to practice quieting that storm. This practice can help you get outside of your own mind and be present to the moment by controlling your thoughts. During an anxiety attack, I have felt completely helpless to my wandering mind. The good news is, you can have control of your mind! Let your mind wander during these times and practice bringing back focus to your breathe, training yourself that you can control where your mind goes and how to get it back from panic.
Practice 6: Counseling
Go get help. Trust me, counseling is all it’s hyped up to be. Find someone you love as a friend and mentor, and meet with them as much as you can. Don’t talk to them as the person you want to be, talk to them as the person you are. Just commit to it and trust your counselor, it’s that easy!
Thank you for taking time to read this essay, you and your time are valuable to me! I hope this helps you in your walk with anxiety, and brings encouragement to your life.
Grace and Peace,
Justin
