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CU Boulder | Culture

How I Cope With My Anxiety

Maanya Jain Student Contributor, University of Colorado - Boulder
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at CU Boulder chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.

I have been dealing with anxiety for as long as I can remember. I am a constant overthinker, I get your typical panic attacks, and my body can’t stay still no matter how hard I try. I have gone through life thinking that I just have to live with my anxiety and that there’s nothing I can do about it. But, in 2026, I aim to combat that. It did take me 19 years to figure out that I don’t have to live life around my anxiety and that instead I can just combat it or embrace it, but that’s okay. However, here are methods that I’ve used for many years or want to incorporate to help me live with my anxiety.

  1. Talk to the people around me about my worries.

It is a really bad idea for me to be left alone. When I am left alone, I am subject to my own thoughts, and my brain feels like the thoughts are running at 300 miles per hour. So, instead of letting myself just sit there and think with no conclusion or destination, I rely on the people that I love. Whether that includes my friends or my dad, I contact them whenever my thoughts wander. Now it is probably a good idea to learn how to manage my own thoughts, but I’ve found that releasing my thoughts through talk instead of just letting them brew in my head alleviates my worries. My friends are there to talk me through them and also give me advice. However, for this, you need to rely on the people who truly care about you and understand your anxiety, because I genuinely don’t know how I haven’t annoyed my friends when I freak out about the same topic for the millionth time. But that’s what friends are for. 

  1. Keeping myself busy.

I am not busy enough. Therefore, I have way too much time on my hands to let myself think into a frenzy. So, keeping myself busy makes it so that I don’t have time to leave my brain on its own. Whether that’s making sure I go to school, doing a ton of work, signing up for clubs, etc. Outside of school, I like watching movies, hanging out with my friends, and doing the typical doom-scroll on TikTok. However, because of my anxiety, I’ve stopped doing activities for myself. Now, it could just be the constant, never-ending task that is college, but I have accepted that I need to get an actual hobby. Of course, process your emotions first and then distract yourself from them. In 2026, I’m hoping to get into activities like coloring, and I want to get back into watching movies (which will obviously be Bollywood). However, I am a victim of social media, and I spend way more time than I should on my phone. Mindless doom-scrolling isn’t actually mindless for me. I’m paying more attention to my own thoughts rather than the actual content itself, which makes me overall unproductive. So, I need to get a hobby. And hopefully a job. 

  1. Do activities that make me feel good about myself.

“Look good, feel good” is one of the mottos I live by. Every day, I make sure that I am taking steps physically that make me feel good on the inside. Whether that’s making sure that I get fully ready, taking the meds that I’m supposed to take every day (but don’t), or making sure that I am fresh and hygienic. When I do these, it not only makes me look overall presentable and healthy, but it makes me feel more confident and put together. The same goes for my surroundings. How clean I keep my space is a reflection of my mind. When my room is messy and dirty, it probably means that I am not in the best mental space. When I take time to clean, and my room is generally kept clean, it also clears my mind. Especially if my mind is already full of clutter, my surroundings can’t be that way either. All of these habits make me feel more motivated to go about my day. 

  1. Give myself something to look forward to every day.

When I give myself something to look forward to every day, it limits my wandering thoughts. These could range from a variety of activities. For me, my friends and I like to have “dorm time.” Almost every day, we hang out in my friend’s dorm after dinner. I love spending time with my friends, so this is usually my favorite part of the day. This also helps me vent out my thoughts to my friends from the day. If we don’t have dorm time, then I make sure I look forward to my own unwinding activities, such as ending the day with a movie. It doesn’t have to be an activity. Every Thursday, I yearn for the pho at the C5. For me, these are usually at the end of the day so that I can end the day on a good note. But always having something to look forward to is great for diverting my anxiety, especially after a very anxious day.

  1. Remind myself that I am a normal person. 

My anxiety has affected many aspects of my life. For example, I overthink to no end, I blow things out of proportion, I’m constantly moving and fidgeting, and worrying about anything and everything. Over the years, I have felt like these habits that I have developed are weird and not normal, which, to some extent, is true. A mentally healthy brain wouldn’t have all of these tendencies. But I have to remind myself that this is my normal, and that’s okay, and I have (sort of) learned how to live with it. Even then, a lot of people suffer with anxiety to different extents, so it’s likely that you’re not alone. 

Anxiety is a battle that a lot of people have to go through. Through my years of living with it, I have learned a lot, such as how my anxiety presents itself personally and what best works for me. So, I hope that what I do, some of these can help you fulfill your specific needs, whether you experience anxiety or are just generally stressed out.

Maanya Jain

CU Boulder '29

Maanya Jain is a contributing writer for the University of Colorado - Boulder chapter of Her Campus. Maanya writes two stories a month.

Outside of Her Campus, Maanya is a freshman at CU Boulder from Colorado and plans to major in Business Administration with an emphasis in Marketing. In Her Campus, Maanya hopes to write about popular culture, personal stories, and fun little stories that don’t necessarily have a meaning to them.

Outside of school, Maanya likes to watch childhood TV shows and Bollywood and Marvel movies. Maanya’s favorite show is Friends. Maanya also loves listening to music with some of her favorite artists being The Weeknd, Doja Cat, Ariana Grande, and Chase Atlantic. You will see her at many concerts. In her free time, she likes shopping, spending time with her friends and family, and trying out new foods, with her favorite being noodles. As she navigates college, Maanya is excited to write for Her Campus and be part of such an amazing community of women!