When you’re in the midst of a panic attack it can seem as though nothing will help fix it.
Which gives you this sense of hopelessness. Treating anxiety isn’t always easy and sometimes it might feel completely impossible.
The good news is there are actually a lot of options out there for you to choose from.
What matters is choosing what works for you. For me personally, I enjoy venting to my sister and going out on long runs. Other people prefer to not talk about it and put that attention towards something else. Like a hobby or working out.
It all depends on what works best for you. Figuring that out might be a challenge at first.
That’s why in this post I compiled the best treatment options for you to choose from.
Read through this list and then decide which ones sound best to you.
Then, work on making a commitment to yourself. Choose one thing to focus on for the rest of the week and spend just 5 minutes a day working toward it.
I promise, when you make this commitment you will start to feel better mentally and more refreshed.
Opening Up to People You Trust
Talking it out is one of the best ways to expel anxiety.
Your mind builds up stories inside and once you decide to voice those stories into the world, they lose power.
Let people close to you know how you’re feeling. Even if you feel uncomfortable opening up to someone about it.
When you do talk to someone, you will feel much better just getting it out.
Click here to read more: Tips for Talking About Your Mental Health
Practicing Acceptance
Do you try to fight your anxiety? If you do this could be what is actually making your anxiety worse.
What you can try instead is learning how to accept it for what it is.
This means allowing your anxiety to come into your body, and then leave. Feel all the feels and then allow it to move out of your body.
The next time you feel anxious tell yourself “I am anxious but it’s OK. This will pass.”
Take 3 deep breaths and see how you feel after this.
The quicker you can accept your anxious thoughts the quicker they will disappear.
Being More Mindful
It sounds weird to be more mindful when you’re trying so hard to be mindless, right?
What being mindful means is being more present in the moment.
Focus on the things around you and let them ground you.
Because anxiety tries its best to get you to lose control and float away into an anxious cloud.
That’s when you want to ground yourself and pay attention to what is happening in the now.
What do you see, hear, and smell?
List 3 things you can focus on in this current moment.
Read more about grounding techniques here.
Loving Yourself
When you don’t give yourself enough compassion and love, you’ll gradually feel more and more anxious.
As you struggle with anxiety you’ll want to focus on loving yourself more.
You can do this by being more patient with yourself when you experience anxiety.
A lot of the time we feel shame and guilt associated with anxiety and mental health. We think we shouldn’t think these thoughts or feel these things.
But, loving yourself no matter what won’t make anxiety feel so terrible. You’ll be more accepting of yourself which allows you to be more accepting of anxiety.
Getting Rid of Toxins
This might be any number of things.
Do you work at a dead-end job that doesn’t serve you?
Are you friends with people who don’t support you?
Do you resort to eating junk food, drinking alcohol, or smoking cigarettes when you feel uncomfortable?
These things are comforting but very toxic to your body. And actually make anxiety worse in the long run.
Work on lessening the toxins in your life. Practice some more self-love and think about what is most important to you.
Try to let go of some of these things that just don’t make you feel good anymore. I promise your anxiety will lessen once this happens.
Going to Therapy
I believe therapy is a great option for anybody. No matter if you have anxiety or not.
It’s good because you learn more about yourself and why you might feel the way you do.
Therapy allows you to be in a safe environment with a supportive person who can help you work some of your anxious thoughts.
If you don’t want to physically go to therapy and are looking for something you can do from the comfort of your own home, I recommend using Betterhelp.
I personally use this platform and really enjoy it, especially since my schedule changes often. You can also spend time finding the right therapist for you, which is huge in your recovery process.
Click here to find the right therapist for you!
Possibly Medication
There’s a lot of controversy over using anti-depressants to help with your mental health.
It doesn’t work for everyone and some people even believe doctors give prescriptions for them out like vitamins.
Just so doctors can make more money.
On the other hand though I don’t think medication should be completely dismissed.
I personally take it for my anxiety and it has done wonders. Anti-depressants helped pull me out of my own rut and I want to mention them in case they could do the same for you.
I would recommend talking to your doctor about how you’ve been feeling and asking what they recommend. They usually put you on a small dose and go up from there depending on how you’re feeling.
Another note with medication is to be patient with it. The first type you try might not work. (Just like with birth control if you’re on that)
There is no one size fits all so you’ll want to experiment a little and don’t give up hope if it doesn’t work the first try around.
Following your Core Values
A lot of the times we get influenced by certain things.
Like what job to get, and what people to hang out with. Deep within you have your own core values.
If you sway too far from these values it can feel like you aren’t living true to yourself. And it’s easy to do this when society is telling you to do something different.
Living authentically and true to your core can help reduce anxiety. It’s not an easy fix though and requires effort.
But, it just starts by doing everything on this list and listening to yourself more often.
Stop ignoring your wants and needs. If you feel trapped or stuck often, then it’s most likely a sign you’re not living authentically.
Exercising
Exercise is so beneficial in so many ways. I believe this even on most days when I have zero motivation to get my butt off the couch.
It’s because when I do decide to walk my dogs or work out, I feel a lot better. Almost as if my mind cleared itself of all my overthinking.
What’s even better is your body gets tired afterward. And when you’re tired, you don’t have much energy to think.
(Although I always have the energy to overthink). Exercising is also a great form of self-care.
You might not want to do it and might even believe it won’t help you. But your body says otherwise.
Your body needs movement. It needs to be challenged and to burn off some energy.
If you hate doing intense exercises, why not try yoga or Pilates?
When you’re working out for your mental health it’s not about losing weight. It’s just about getting your mind to feel better, so try and take some of that pressure off.
Alright, that’s it for today. What is one thing you’re going to choose from this list to help treat your anxiety? Let me know in the comments!
