Anxiety: Managing Yourself Through the Crisis

Anxiety can feel like a long walk in the woods, with no clear path in sight or anyone pointing you in the right direction. Just like grief, anxiety is common to everyone. It is a mental health condition that often results in cycles of unhappy thoughts that refuse to leave for prolonged periods, often leading to despair and unexplained fears. While anyone can suffer anxiety bouts, it is a personal experience, nonetheless, fraught with uncertainties and pain, making it impossible to navigate without hurting oneself in the process, often in unimaginable ways. However, like every health condition, anxiety is manageable, with practical ways for effectively navigating the storm. Are you struggling with anxiety and groping for relief? In this blog post, we'll explore practical steps for managing anxiety, drawing insights into Phoebe's journey on how to manage the condition while prioritizing self-care.

Phoebe's Journey

In the grip of severe anxiety: a person overwhelmed by an anxiety attack (tCaPC).

Phoebe is a college student with years of struggle with severe anxiety. She runs a small flower business that delivers customized bouquets. Phoebe got stuck in a snag with no clue of how to get out. After the loss of her mother to cancer she's not been able to manage anxiety without jeopardizing her health further. Audrey, her best friend, visits the shops one day and finds that her friend needs help. She'd never seen Phoebe talk to anyone in that matter before, she was yelling at Scott, the janitor for something seemingly unlikely. Following a series of persuasions, Phoebe agrees to see a therapist. Through specialized care and support from family and friends, she found a way to navigate the condition. Read on, you could pick up a few bits of insights and practical tips from her personal experience on how to truly look after yourself amid the storm.

Keeping Busy to Intercept Anxiety Cycles

There are tons of self-care measures for navigating anxiety, without doing yourself much harm, by way of lifestyle, activities, or habits. Keeping a busy and productive mind is a top-tier hack for effectively managing the condition. Turning to the activities that interest you, especially hobbies that take away your focus can be a great way to rechannel energy and attention otherwise spent in unproductive thoughts. For Phoebe focusing on her studies and her small business helped occupy her thoughts and take her mind away from the wild wave of anxious thoughts. Understanding that anxiety is driven by cycles of negative thoughts that accumulate over time, often generating negative energy, can help anyone battling with the condition to understand how to rechannel their energy into more productive endeavors while distracting the mind from unproductive thoughts. Listening to a favorite song while working out, for instance, can be a great way to shift attention and dissipate tension.

Embracing a Healthier Lifestyle

Embrace a healthier lifestyle: Nourish your body and mind with fresh fruits, vegetables, and plenty of water. 🍎🥒💧 #HealthyLiving #tCaPC

One way to effectively navigate anxiety is by incorporating lifestyle changes. Living the old way, and holding onto the same habits, and lifestyle will likely not yield the desired outcome. From food to hobbies, to the simplest things, you should consider moving things around, for quick recovery. For Phoebe, her recovery journey began with effecting a few changes, this meant treating herself with more kindness and care. Kindness could mean different things to different people, for some, it involves more intentionality and deliberate care into the things that impact their overall health, especially how they perceive themselves, and lifestyle habits. For Phoebe, it wasn't a one-off event, it was a slow and steady shift from unwholesome habits like excessive drinking, partying, and unhealthy eating habits. Through therapy, she gained a firmer grip on her stressors and this contributed a great deal to her recovery process. Lifestyle changes including a change in diet, regular exercise, and proper rest can work wonders for anyone looking to effectively navigate anxiety.

The Power of Exercise

Granted we all cannot be Usain or another Serena but exercise is important for physical and mental health. This is especially true for those struggling with anxiety. While you may not find exercise an interesting activity, doing it for the sake of your health is a much wiser decision than total resignation from trying out at least one activity that works for you. For Phoebe, regular daily physical exercise helped her maintain more balance and keep her mind focused. Exercise is the best therapy for managing anxiety, as it helps reduce stress hormones and release endorphins which the body needs to relax. Exercise, especially the intense type helps rid the body of toxins, leaving you much more relaxed and focused.

Empowerment in Motion: Harnessing the Vitality of Exercise (tCaPC).

Avoiding Rumination by Staying Active

Anxiety is caused by excessive negative thoughts, the situation could be far worse for those who cannot take their minds off the stressors. Avoid the pressure of constantly turning things that cause you stress over in your mind can worsen the anxiety symptoms. Often this is a common trap for those who do not know how to escape the temptation to isolate themselves. Rather than alienate yourself, find activities that will engage your mind and attention, the goal is to distract the mind while keeping it active, and positively engaged. For Phoebe, this meant spending more time with her father, and friends and doing home deliveries herself. She also found new hobbies to explore, hiking on weekends and teaching aged couples how to tend to grow flowers and maintain a beautiful garden. Staying active and occupied helped keep her mind from spiraling or veering off into anxious thoughts. 

Conclusion

Anxiety can feel like a long walk in the woods, with no clear path in sight or anyone pointing you in the right direction. To successfully navigate anxiety you must be patient and persistent. You cannot effectively manage the condition without acknowledging the need for a change in lifestyle, mindset, and daily routine. Strategies like keeping busy and active, prioritizing physical exercise, and avoiding persistent negative thoughts can help you effectively cope with the condition, giving you more control of your life. Like Phoebe, you too can find hope amid the pain.