22 unexpected ways to deal with anxiety

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Puzzles, video games and even a frozen orange can help you overcome anxiety.

The Huffington Post asked members of the mental health community The Mighty to talk about how to deal with anxiety. And they offered some unexpected relaxation options.

1. Drive the car

When you focus on the road, there is no room for worrying thoughts.

2. Listen to audiobooks and podcasts

By focusing on the story and the voice of the narrator, you distract from exciting questions.

3. Borrow hands

It is worth having a soothing toy or keychain close at hand - something to fiddle with in anxious moments.

4. Turn on heavy music

Fast and loud rock tunes drown out negative thoughts in your head.

5. Mentally surround yourself with a wall of white protective light

And give her the instruction not to let any negative energy through.

6. Prepare a complex dish

Creation is a simple method to clear your mind and distract yourself. Cooking is one of the most affordable ways to channel energy in a constructive direction.

7. Play video games

A tense plot and sudden clashes with opponents will draw all attention to themselves and temporarily displace disturbing thoughts from consciousness.

8. Sing

You don't have to lock yourself in a room to purr a pleasant melody under your breath. You may look strange when you sing in a crowded place, but that is no longer your cause for concern.

9. Solve puzzles

It helps to focus on something other than anxious thoughts, and successfully finding a clue restores faith in yourself.

10. Count the small change in your pocket

During a panic attack, the clinking of coins is soothing, and the bill is a little distracting.

11. Clean up the house

Clutter can increase feelings of anxiety, and eliminating chaos makes you feel like you're in control.

12. Drink something very cold or hot

An unusual temperature distracts from anxiety.

13. Doing inverted yoga poses

Standing on the shoulders or on the head makes you see the world in a different perspective.

14. Play The Sims or any other similar game

Controlling a fictional universe creates the illusion that you can control everything.

15. Work

Anxiety disappears when you start your daily routine.

16. Watching Korean Dramas

They provide an opportunity to distract from excessive analysis of the situation and calm down.

17. Go for a wax eyebrow correction

The beauty procedure is accompanied by calm music. Cosmetologists know about the client only that once every three weeks she comes for eyebrow shaping. Leaving the salon, you feel a little prettier. It's relaxing.

18. Hold a frozen orange in your hands

The unusual action makes you focus on the cold ball in your hands, which slows down your thoughts and calms your heartbeat.

19. Count in random order or in reverse order

It takes the brain more than just listing numbers, and therefore distracts and helps to calm down and even fall asleep.

20. Take care of houseplants

By watering the flowers, looking at the patterns on the leaves, and even talking to them, you can forget about anxiety.

21. Go to the store for a draft drink

A short walk to your favorite music ends with a reward in the form of delicious lemonade. The main thing is that the drink is decaffeinated, otherwise it will excite even more.

22. Do a full dress up, even if you don't have to go anywhere

It's not just a way to look your best. It is an expression of your feelings through facial painting and practically an art form that inspires and distracts.

Specialist comment

Most of the proposed methods are associated with distraction by some new activity. This is truly one of the easiest methods to deal with anxiety. All options related to sports, physical activity, singing and dancing are good. Through movement, we release the accumulated tension. For ladies, beauty procedures will be effective. In women, at the physiological level, assistance is provided in the fight against stress - the production of the hormone oxytocin. The same hormone is produced upon contact with the body, which happens during cosmetic manipulations.

It is a pity that among the methods there was nothing connected with simple human communication. In a conversation, with the help of facial expressions and gestures, you can relieve some of the tension, structure your feelings, and hear an outside opinion. All this can change the attitude towards the situation and reduce anxiety.

However, anxiety usually occurs for a reason. Sooner or later, it would be good to eliminate its original cause, otherwise you will be very tired. It can be compared to a computer. You have one program running - worry, you run a second in parallel - to distract yourself. And spend your energy processing both, and also containing anxiety. Therefore, it is necessary not only to push anxiety into the background, but also to close running alarm processes, as we free up RAM on the computer.

How do you deal with anxiety and panic attacks?