Anxiety can be hard to deal with, especially in public situations, though anxiety can spike anywhere. Sitting at home alone watching your favorite movie, going for a walk through the park, or even at the pet store surrounded by all those loving fur and non-fur babies!

Anxiety can be a rollercoaster of emotions. I live with anxiety every day and have found various ways of coping with it when it pops up. Keep reading below if you would like to read how to deal with anxiety, my top 10 tips.

Tip One: Journaling

If you have read this blog before, you know I am huge on journaling. For a long time, I was skeptical and had a negative outlook on journaling. I told myself it wouldn’t help, so it was pointless. That is until I started trying to journal when I became upset. I found that by getting all the emotional baggage out and on paper, I felt a lot better. The emotions were still there, it was just easier to cope with.

Journaling when you become anxious can help focus your mind and calm your nerves. Here are some questions I answer when I am journaling on a troubled day:

• What could be the cause of my anxiety spiking?
• Is there anything I can do about this situation?
• Have I tried talking to someone about this? If not, should I? Why?
• Write down 5 things I can see, touch, feel, taste, and smell.
• Have I tried breathing exercises? Did it help? Why or why not?

While this may not work 100% of the time, I found it helped me to question the anxiety. Knowing the possible cause helped me focus on how I could be prepared for the next time that situation popped up.

Tip 2: Creating a calming playlist

Music is usually my go-to. It helps calm my mind by focusing on the lyrics and/or instruments being played. Having an anti-anxiety playlist, you can listen to when anxiety rears its ugly head can be very beneficial.

There have been countless times when I have been in public and started panicking out of nowhere. Throwing in some earbuds and listening to the playlist I made for anxiety helps reduce my stress a ton.

Here are some of the songs I have downloaded to my anti-anxiety playlist:

• Relaxing instrumental fantasy music (I like the nature and magical sound mix)
• Classical music
• Read All About It
• A drop in the ocean
• Silent Scream
• Everybody Cries Sometimes
• Dollhouse
• Gasoline
• She Don’t Want the world
• Fallen Angel
• Your Guardian Angel
• Head Above Water
• Every Time the Rain Comes Down
• Bad Things
• Losin Control
• Ride Slow
• She Will Be Loved
• Battle Scars
• At My Best
• Waiting for Superman
• Stand

This is just a small sample of some of the songs I’ve put on my playlist. I like having a wide range of different genres. When creating a calming playlist, try to stay away from angry and mood-spiking songs. It could cause your anxiety to become worse.

However, if you are someone who calms down to heavy metal and songs that pump you up, then use them. If you notice you feel more anxious, try to throw some soothing songs into your playlist. Don’t get me wrong I love hype songs, they are just bad for my anxiety when I am having an attack. Same thing for depressing songs.

Tip 3: Finding a Creative Outlet

My creative outlet is art and making things from things I find around the house. Having a creative outlet can help you by getting your mind on something more productive than the constant worry that comes with anxiety. There are many creative outlets you can try! Furthermore, if you start making things that can be sold, you can also make a small side income. Who doesn’t enjoy earning a little extra spending money?

Here are some creative outlets you can try:

• Coloring
• Drawing
• Digital Art
• Taking photos of nature and the world around you
• Writing
• Poetry
• Dancing
• Sculpting
• Pottery
• Writing lyrics
• Origami
• Jewelry making
• Mosaics

There are many more you could try. The ones above are from the top of my head. If one thing doesn’t work, you can keep trying until you find something that resonates with you better and helps you relax. There are so many good things that can come from having a creative outlet.

Tip 4: Learning How to Be Okay in the Unknown

I’m not sure about others, but I found a lot of my anxiety comes from being afraid of the unknown. I am terrified of not knowing the outcome of things

if I am going to mess up if I am doing the right thing, etc. One of the biggest things I am learning currently is being okay in the unknown and uncomfortable.

I don’t have many tips for learning this skill as of now, but once I learn more, I will be writing an in-depth article about it. Right now, I am practicing blogging. I have learned that hitting publish, even when I have self-doubts, it’s helping me with accepting the unknown.

Tip 5: Reading and Learning About Anxiety

Trying to understand a problem at hand by learning and reading about it can help you find a solution a lot faster and more efficiently. The same thing goes for learning about anxiety. It helps with pinpointing possible causes, ways to overcome and cope with stress, etc. Just like you are doing now 😉

Tip 6: Take a break from social media, the news, and anything that may be media related

While it is good to know what’s going on in the world around us, it can still cause anxiety at times. When you notice your anxiety starting to get bad again, try unplugging from all social media.

Social media sends so many mixed messages; you never know what article is biased or real. With the crazy events going on in today’s world, it can cause anyone to become overwhelmed. Sometimes unplugging from all the hoopla can help anxiety-related problems in unexpected ways.

Tip 7: Talking to Someone

Whether it be a friend, family member, therapist, or someone online, talking about what you are going through and how you’re feeling can be a tremendous asset when it comes to improving your mood.

I won’t lie. It will be uncomfortable and emotional, but it can help with releasing all the pent-up emotions. This helps with anxiety, depression, anger, etc. Holding in worry and stress can cause so many unwelcome problems in your life. Here are some of the things I experienced by keeping everything locked inside my mind:

• Stomach problems
• Overthinking to the point of panic attacks
• Insomnia
• Longer depressive and anxiety episodes

Sometimes getting all the mental gunk out in the open to someone else can help in unexpected ways. The person you open up to might be able to give you advice that helps you; information you’d never think of because of the never-ending thoughts and/or worry.

Just always remember to be there for others as they are for you. Having a sound support system can be very beneficial in life.

Tip 8: Asking myself these questions when I begin to feel anxious

With anxiety, often comes rushing thoughts. When I start to feel anxious, I ask myself these questions to help me focus my mind and calm down:

• What is the possible reason for me feeling like this?
• Is there anything I can do to fix how I am feeling right now?
• Is this something I can or cannot control?
• Is this feeling rational? Am I overthinking things?
• Reminding myself, that I am okay, and take a moment to pause and recollect my thoughts

By questioning the situation at hand and evaluating my emotions, I can help myself come back to reality and not overthink everything.

Tip 9: Reading my favorite book

Books are amazing. They help you escape your reality and into a whole new world of fun, adventure, and wonder. We live in an era where we can download all of our books to our phone, kindle, or tablet to take with us on the go.

I have a hard time with public transportation. A few years back, I had to ride the bus often to get to places I needed to go. Having something to read while sitting on the bus helped ease my anxiety to almost a complete nothing!

I understand not everyone likes to read; however, we live in a generation where you can listen to your favorite book on your phone. Maybe this can be an option for those who do not like reading. If not, that’s okay. These are just some of the things that personally help me that I wanted to share with others.

Tip 10: Facing fears one step at a time

A lot of my anxiety comes from me being afraid of things like being in public, what others think, the unknown, etc. I have found that by working on my fears, I am also working on my anxiety. Some of the steps I take when facing fear are:

• Preparing myself before doing something that scares me by reading up on it
• Having an anti-anxiety plan on hand for when my anxiety shows up
• Reminding myself over and over again that I am okay
• Meditation

Conclusion on Dealing with Anxiety

These are my top 10 tips for coping with anxiety. Remember, these may or may not work for you. We are all different and have different ways of handling things. I wanted to share some of the things that help me in the hopes of it helping someone who also experiences anxiety. Thank you so much for your time, I hope you were able to gain value from this post.

Remember, change takes time, patience, and practice. By overcoming self-limiting doubts and striving for ways to help yourself, you are becoming the best version of yourself. It’s never too late to try to become the best you.

Thank you for taking the time out of your day to read this blog post. I hope you were able to find value and usefulness in this post. If you would like, comment below on some of the ways that help you cope with anxiety. By sharing our own ways of handling certain emotions, we can potentially help someone else by giving them new insight and ideas they might have looked past.