Top 10 Stress/Anxiety Relievers

 

Show of hands: how many of you have ever had to deal with anxiety?

Have you ever had it where you feel like you want to crawl the walls? Or you feel like you’re going crazy? You can hardly sit still? Well, that is what happened to me.

If you have ever experienced anxiety, maybe you understand that it can even be hard to leave the house. That is where I am at. But, there is hope. It does get better, but it is hard work to get back on track sometimes.

Here are ten ways that help me to deal with stress and anxiety:

1. 1. Meditation – I use a relaxation and well-being meditation that I listen to when I am going to sleep. Also JohnMakransky.org has several meditations that you can listen to that I find helpful. There are many sites with mindfulness meditations, so you can explore and find what works for you.
   2. Four square breathing – With anxiety, a person tends to hold their breath, which does not help. I find that if I sit and do the four square breathing for a few minutes it helps me to relax. Four square breathing is where you breathe in to the count of four, hold you breath for the count of four, and exhale for the count of four. You can continue to do this as long as you like.
   3. Drawing and art – When I do my drawing and art work it helps me to relax. It is so therapeutic.
   4. Staying on a sleep schedule – I know I am off when I start to go to bed later and later. I don’t sleep as well and that tends to make me more stressed and anxious.
   5. Reaching out  – Talk to friends and avoid feeling isolated. It is so easy for me to isolate when I feel anxious. This is one area that I need to work on right now.
   6. Get out of the house– Even when I feel anxious, I know it’s important to get out of the house. Now if I don’t make myself go out I may start to be agoraphobic. That is not a fun place to be. I have had that in the past.
   7. Exercise – Now I have mentioned this before, I do not like to exercise. But when I do, I feel better. It seems like when I am really stressed or anxious I let this go. So now is the time for me to step up to the plate and start exercising.
   8. Eating healthy – For myself I have to watch my eating when depressed or anxious. I tend to either eat way too much and pick bad choices for what I eat or I don’t eat enough. Usually it is the first. Sugar is the one thing that I tend to gravitate to. What really helped me is that I went to a cooking matters class, which was a good reminder of what I learned in school about how to eat healthy, so I try to stick to what we learned in the cooking class. Just like exercise, a healthy diet can rejuvenate your mind and body. 
   9. Have someone you can talk to – For me it is good to have a close friend that I can be honest about how I am feeling. Now I don’t mean to dump all my problems on a friend (that is not fair) and they have their own issues to deal with. Just being able to say I am hanging in there or I had a hard day can be very helpful.
   10. Ask for help – This is one that  was very hard at first for me to do. I always thought that I didn’t need any help and that I could do it on my own. That didn’t work so well for me.

       I am going to tell you a little of my story. Maybe it will help someone who is struggling with anxiety and depression. Back in 2009 I finally decided to ask for help from a professional. I remember when I went to my doctor and she said to me, “I am so proud of you for coming in to ask for help, it is not easy to come in, and most people do not”. At the time it didn’t mean much to me because of where I was at. Now it means the world to me. I will never forget it.

       I have come a long way from when I first starting getting professional help. Sometimes it does not seem like it but when someone reminds me or I really think about it then I realise how far I have come.

       It is not a weakness to ask for help, like I used to think. I was always afraid to let anyone know that I needed to get professional help for depression and anxiety. I  was always worried what other people would think of me if they knew that I needed to get help. When you stop and think about it, we need to take care of our mental health just as much as our physical health. So why should it matter what others think. I am not doing this for anyone but myself. If people can not accept me for who I am and celebrate with me my accomplishments of taking care of myself. Then I don’t need those people in my life because they do not support me. I have found that I need people that support me and I need to feel safe with them. If I can feel safe with them then I can trust them. Those are the type of people I want in my life.

       So I encourage anyone that is struggling and needs help to please reach out and ask for help.

 

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