5 Activities That May Alleviate Anxiety

You are experiencing more stress than ever before.  You try to balance increasing work stress, trying to cope with a pandemic, all on top pf household stress.  The result?  Anxiety starts kicking in.  You go through your ever-growing to-do list in your head which makes your mind start to race.  Then you cannot fall asleep at night (Hey, thanks racing thoughts!)You start to feel worries about several different things going on and feel like it is impossible to control the worry.  There is hope!  There are several different activities that can help reduce some anxiety sometimes. 

Here are 5 popular activities to try to alleviate anxiety:

1.       Exercise.  Yes, the tried and true exercise.  Find an activity that you enjoy and can be consistent with.  The physical stress that anxiety has on the body can actually work to reduce anxiety.  Exercise works to reduce the stress hormone, Cortisol.  Exercise also releases endorphins which can naturally improve emotional well-being.

2.       Reduce caffeine intake.  I know, I know, this does not sound like fun; however, large amounts of caffeine can increase anxiety as caffeine is a stimulant.  Coffee, tea, chocolate (sigh), and energy drinks all contain various amounts of caffeine.  Of course, everyone responds to caffeine differently.  See how you feel after consuming items with caffeine.  If you feel an increase in anxiety, you might want to consider cutting back.

3.       Write.  Sometimes there can be something so helpful about writing things down that can be soothing.  There are a few ways to do this.  Some people find it helpful to write about the things that activate anxiety and how they coped.  Others find it helpful to write down the things they are grateful for during that day.  There is no right or wrong way to journal (and spelling does not count – this is just for you!).  Experiment with what works for you.

4.       Deep breathing.  When anxiety increases, our body’s sympathetic nervous system activates our “fight or flight response”.  This “fight or flight” response is helpful when we are in danger; however, when we are feeling anxious, we are not typically in danger.  The heart starts to race, the chest area feels tight, palms get sweaty, and breathing quickens.  Sometimes this can be the start of a panic attack.  Deep breathing is a way we can tell our body that we are not in danger and do not need “all systems go” right now.  Deep breathing can activate the parasympathetic nervous system which is responsible for rest and relaxation.  Bring awareness to your breath, breathing slower and deeper. 

5.       Say “no”.  Very often, we commit to too many things and too many people.  When you start to feel overwhelmed or start to resent things or others, it is a sign you have taken on too much.  When we can say “no” to others, we can start saying “yes” to ourselves to recharge. 

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