Anxiety or nervousness happens to everyone. It is very treatable and manageable. Here are five simple and powerful ways to reduce your anxiety:
1. Get moving! Doing any kind of physical exercise can help to lower your anxiety. When you feel tension or nervous, try to exercise as soon as possible to reduce your anxiety. Go for a hike, swim, do some jumping jacks, go for a bike ride, or dance to your favorite music.
2. Practice Deep Breathing. When we feel anxious, we tend to breathe shallowly and rapidly. Focusing on your breathing can help to reduce your anxiety. Practice deep breathing or "belly breathing" by putting your hand on your abdomen and inhaling deeply. Allow your abdomen to fill with air. Exhale slowly and repeat until you feel calmer.
3. Talk it out! When we keep nervous feelings bottled up inside, they don't go away. The anxiety just gets more overwhelming. Talking about your feelings with a trusted friend, parent, sibling, or co-worker can help to reduce your anxiety. A therapist can also help you to express your feelings and reduce your anxiety.
4. Practice positive self-talk. When we feel nervous, we tend to think that the worse is going to happen. We worry! We may even beat ourselves up for being nervous. Be kinder to yourself and be more positive with yourself. Just like you wouldn't say mean things to your best friend, be kind and compassionate with yourself. Your anxiety will diminish with more positive and compassionate self-talk.
5. Write it out! It often helps to write down your thoughts or feelings or worries. Writing them down helps to reduce your anxiety by getting these thoughts out of your mind and on paper. Journal writing is personal and private. You don't have to show your writing to anyone. Expressing your feelings is a good way to help alleviate your anxiety.
1. Get moving! Doing any kind of physical exercise can help to lower your anxiety. When you feel tension or nervous, try to exercise as soon as possible to reduce your anxiety. Go for a hike, swim, do some jumping jacks, go for a bike ride, or dance to your favorite music.
2. Practice Deep Breathing. When we feel anxious, we tend to breathe shallowly and rapidly. Focusing on your breathing can help to reduce your anxiety. Practice deep breathing or "belly breathing" by putting your hand on your abdomen and inhaling deeply. Allow your abdomen to fill with air. Exhale slowly and repeat until you feel calmer.
3. Talk it out! When we keep nervous feelings bottled up inside, they don't go away. The anxiety just gets more overwhelming. Talking about your feelings with a trusted friend, parent, sibling, or co-worker can help to reduce your anxiety. A therapist can also help you to express your feelings and reduce your anxiety.
4. Practice positive self-talk. When we feel nervous, we tend to think that the worse is going to happen. We worry! We may even beat ourselves up for being nervous. Be kinder to yourself and be more positive with yourself. Just like you wouldn't say mean things to your best friend, be kind and compassionate with yourself. Your anxiety will diminish with more positive and compassionate self-talk.
5. Write it out! It often helps to write down your thoughts or feelings or worries. Writing them down helps to reduce your anxiety by getting these thoughts out of your mind and on paper. Journal writing is personal and private. You don't have to show your writing to anyone. Expressing your feelings is a good way to help alleviate your anxiety.
