Anxiety is something that many people live with. Either you have bouts of it dispersed throughout your day or it’s completely debilitating — leaving you frozen or in overdrive. It sucks. It elicits feelings of panic where you get stuck in flight or fight mode. You might have a missed call, but your body can’t decipher between a missed call and being chased by a lion.
While this inherent gift has let us survive this long, now things we used to fear are seldom an issue. Social outings, human interaction, presentations, and simple tasks send our alarm systems haywire when we aren’t in real danger.
These anxiety hacks won’t necessarily cure anxiety — you may need to see a mental health professional or consider medication if you have a more moderate to severe case that’s considerably affecting your life. However, these hacks can hopefully stop or slow down the anxiety spiral that many of us unintentionally find ourselves in more often than we’d care to admit.
Limit Alcohol-
Not trying to ruin the fun and say never drink again but limiting alcohol has the potential to reduce anxiousness. You’re probably familiar with the term “hanganxiety” which comes after a night of drinking. Ruminating on what you did or said and to whom.
If you’re someone who already runs anxious limiting your alcohol consumption would be a wise choice. Instead of drinking every weekend save it for special occasions and holidays. Aim to stick to a reasonable amount for your height and body weight when you decide to drink, drink slowly, eat enough, and rotate in water after each drink. If you have regular anxiety, limit your alcohol intake for a while to see if it has any positive effects.
Reduce Caffeine-
Look towards your caffeine routine and see if there are any changes you might need to make. Are you having a couple of coffees or espressos before you have your first bite of food for the day? If you’re unsure if you can give up coffee just yet make sure to at least not drink it on an empty stomach.
If you’re having 2-3 coffees daily aim to slowly reduce the amount. Be willing to switch to caffeine alternatives that won’t make you as jittery and anxious like matcha, tea, herbal tea, yerba mate, or chicory coffee.
Get Out of Your Head-
If you’re an anxious person, sitting at home ruminating isn’t the best idea. You need something to do to get out of your head and into your body and the present moment. Go outside and walk, get in nature, find a creative hobby, play an instrument, join a club, and surround yourself with positive people.
Whenever you find yourself anxious with too much spare time, aim to fill that time with something active.
Get Lost-
Sometimes when anxiety hits you need a distraction. Steer your distractions away from social media and onto traditional media. Find books that interest you or get lost in a show or movie series.
If there’s something you’ve been meaning to watch or read forever but never got around to it use the time you spend on your phone and funnel it into another channel. When you’re too focused and anxious about your own life sometimes you need to get lost in another character’s story.
Lazy Meditation-
Some people with anxiety may not think meditation is for them. They’ll believe sitting in a quiet room will cause their already active mind to go into overdrive. It doesn’t have to be that way. Make it a more chill vibe by putting out a yoga mat or blanket, pop on some headphones, and listen to a soothing guided meditation where you can follow along instead of letting your brain guide the way.
Sit up or lie down, whatever is comfortable. Light incense or diffuse with aromatherapy oils. Use a sleeping mask to shut out light and go into a deep relaxation state. Remember that meditation doesn’t have to be one way and you can choose your own adventure.
Facial Massage-
You don’t realize how tense certain muscles are until you massage them. When stressed and anxious we hold a lot of tension in our jaw, eyebrows, forehead, neck, shoulders, etc. Next time you’re at home and feeling anxious try to massage the anxiety away with a facial massage. This is a great and inexpensive way to practice self-care when feeling uptight.
Weighted Blanket-
A weighted blanket typically ranges from 3 to 20 lbs. They’re filled to create an even distribution of weight upon the user and can feel like a warm hug. These blankets can help you leave your state of fight or flight and assist you in entering your parasympathetic state.
They are believed to reduce tossing and turning at night and can help you fall asleep more easily. They tend to be pricier and go for around $100-$200. If you think it could be worth the investment a weighted blanket can help to ease anxiety.
1-1-
Anxiety spirals occur when you think a negative thought and those thoughts snowball from there. This might take a lot of practice but when you notice yourself begin to think about a worst-case scenario situation counteract it by thinking of what the best-case scenario would be. Our worst-case scenarios are often illogical and not rooted in reality yet our anxiety gives them the driver’s seat. Learn to think of a best-case scenario every time your worst-case scenarios pop into your head.
Set the Mood-
Take a look at your surroundings. Is your home or workspace cluttered and disorganized? Even if you’re not a type A person and don’t care to have things neat and organized, do it for your mental health. When your surroundings are messy and cluttered it can cause your mind to feel messy and cluttered.
When your space is clear and clean you’ll clear your mind and find better focus. Set a timer and spend 10-15 minutes tidying up as best you can — it doesn’t have to be perfect and see how much better you feel. Do this whenever you can to uplift your mood. Light candles and make your space warm and inviting to combat feelings of anxiety.
Exercise-
Anxious feelings sometimes need a place to go other than being stored in your body. Spend 30ish minutes a few times a week doing your favourite physical activity. Whether low impact like yoga or pilates or high impact like running or boxing. The anxiety can be released when you get your body moving. You’ll also feel much better after you get an endorphin rush.
Nature-
Being in nature can get you out of your thoughts and focused on the sights and sounds around you. It connects you with the universe and you can begin to see the big picture of life as opposed to whatever thoughts are ruminating in your head. Get in nature whenever possible if you’re anxious and focus on the colours you see, the smells, how the air feels, etc to anchor you into the present moment.
Ice-
If you’re feeling anxious ice is said to be a good sensory distraction. Put a cube of ice on your wrist or the back of your neck for a few minutes. This cools down your vagus nerve, reducing your heart rate and telling your system to relax when it starts going into overdrive.
You can also place a bowl of ice water on a surface and dunk your face in for 10 seconds, take a breath, and repeat. Peppermint oil roll-ons also cool down those points if you’re out in public.
Final Thoughts-
It seems like everyone struggles with anxiety nowadays and frankly, it’s no surprise. We’re constantly tapped into tragic events through our phones. We also have social media to compare ourselves to others regularly. We live in a state of feeling like the world is always crumbling. Thankfully, when your anxiety begins to spiral there are hacks you can do to stop it in its tracks.
Limiting alcohol and reducing caffeine are things many people partake in but don’t realize how badly they can affect your anxiety levels. Getting out of your head more often and doing activities, getting exercise, or being in nature can take you out of negative thought patterns and help bring you into the present moment.
Mediating and using a weighted blanket or ice can help slow your heart rate and soothe your nervous system. Self-massage is a great form of self-care that can release tense and anxious muscles.
Setting up your home to be clean and calm helps clear your mind. Counteracting each worst-case scenario. with a best-case scenario can help to reduce the anxiety spiral. Hopefully, these anxiety hacks can help to reduce feelings of anxiety when they come up.
