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Managing Anxiety

Anxiety is the body’s natural response to stress - to calm anxiety you have to first figure out what is causing stress. Things which cause stress are called triggers.

  • Slow your breathing and count your breaths

    • Stressful situations can cause fast breathing and lack of oxygen - purposefully slowing and counting your breathing can help with relaxing

  • Relax your muscles

    • Tense then relax your muscles to reduce muscle tension

  • Logically assess the situation

    • Often the “threat” in the situation is enhanced in your head - trust in your abilities to handle the situation

  • Focus on what you can change 

    • Try not to fixate on what you can’t do in the situation, and think about what you can do

Triggers can be different for everyone- some common ones are caffeine, skipping meals, social pressure, and overworking. A good way to identify triggers is to track when you start to feel anxious, and look at the events, time of day, or other stressors that are in common. This can be tracked in a paper journal, or in apps such as Moodnotes. 

Some strategies to manage anxiety in the moment include:

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