Seven Simple Ways to Help You Overcome Anxiety

Breathe from your stomach.

“Take a deep breath” may sound old school, but it is proven to lower your blood pressure, heart rate, and help you relax. The key is to breathe not from your chest, but your stomach. To do so, stand in front of a mirror and take a deep, deep breath, as far as you can go. Does your shoulder go up when you do so? If yes, you are doing it wrong. Now lie down. Place your hand on your stomach, and breathe. Do not let your chest heave too heavily, instead imagine you are breathing from your stomach. Feel the rise and fall of your abdomen. It may feel like you are getting less air at first, but when you get used to it you will realise its amazing calming effects. With practise, you can learn to breathe that way automatically.

On top of this method, you can also roll your tongue together and breathe in from your mouth. It should feel like you are ‘drinking the air’. Breath out through your nose. This is best down in a sitting, meditative position, and somewhere with good air quality. Do this for five to ten minutes, and you will feel refreshed. 

Drink Rose Petal Tea.

In the study of Chinese herbal medicine, rose (the edible ones, not the pretty ones you have in a bouquet) is proven to have healing effects. It helps to relieve anxiety, raise appetite, improve digestion, eases period pain, combat bad breath and encourages better blood flow. You only need 4 to 5 rose buds for a cup of aromatic rose tea, drink it daily for maximum effects. Speaking from personal experience, it does wonders to alleviate PMS, mood swings, and that general butterfly-in-stomach feeling. While perfect for women, men can drink it too, no side effects. Only probably a rosier cheek (sorry).

Tip: If you are a more depressed kind of anxious person, then also try Jasmine tea, which also enhances the mood. Oh and, eat more chicken. 

Try Bach’s Rescue Remedy.

This tiny little yellow bottle is what I rely on in particularly stressful times, before an exam, or before boarding a flight. Made from herbal and floral essence, it is homoeopathic and can be used for everyone, even infants and pets. No side effects if you stick to the dose (it uses a alcohol base, but I can’t imagine anyone getting drunk on 20ml). It’s not wonder-med, though, and does not cure you altogether on the spot. It does, however, take the edge of that impending panic attack, and help you to manage the situation better. Keep it in your bag for that extra secure feeling.

Have a Little Mantra Ready.

Not necessarily the religious kind, but something you can say to reassure yourself when you are feeling particularly vulnerable. My favourite is repeating the phrase ‘the fear is just passing through’, while imagining the fear running out of your feet into the ground. Sound silly? Try it next time, and see what you think. 

Take a Walk Amongst Nature.

Pop down to your nearest park; walking among greens can significantly improve the mood and have a calm effect. For better results, try listening to some soothing tune on your iPod (keep reading).

 Music to Help You Calm

You can listen to all the heavy rock and metal all you like, but it won’t help when you are feeling jittery. Instead, have a playlist ready in your iPod that contains soothing music. Preferably music and just music, no lyrics, no human singing (aside from rhythmic humming, that does wonders too). Yes, New Age really works, so does Classical music such as Mozart. 

Doodle.

There are two ways: if you are creative, and just need to combat that constant nagging feeling at the back of your mind, doodle something nice and colourful for yourself. Trees, sun, houses, stick people, the kind of thing. Try bright colours, it will cheer you up when you look back on it. On the other hand, if you are feeling particularly miserable and not up to cheery stuff, get a big piece of paper and start writing words. Write down everything that’s speeding through your mind, phrases like “OMG” “I’m scared” “WTF” will do just fine, or maybe just scribble “anxious” over and over again in big black letters. Fill up the page. Don’t make it neat, draw lines and slash it across the page as hard as you can. Let out all your feelings and drain yourself. Finally roll up the paper and aim for the basket. Imagining you are throwing away your troubles. If it helps, stomp on it, tear it, throw it around. Do this when you are alone, and nobody will care how silly it might look. Try and see if it works for you.

Finally…

A personal word and encouragement to all anxiety sufferers out there: Yes, it can be overcome. I used to have two panic attacks a day, was sent to Casualty with a heart rate of 146bpm, depressed, crying, scared as hell, you know the usual. Five years later, I still get the occasional butterfly-in-stomach feeling, a little frightened in the evenings, but I have rid the regular panic attacks and anxiety no longer stand in my way. I did not take any meds; it has been achieved through self-help. My advice is don’t over-emphasise it; the more you value the enemy the greater it will become. Do not think yourself as handicapped, do not look for a way to go back to the ‘anxiety-free’ you, because no one is anxiety-free. Live with it, accept it, know that having to deal with this complex emotion has made you stronger, not weaker. Trust in yourself that you cannot be defeated by yourself, and get better. I believe you will.