Anxiety has altered my life irrevocably — medication has altered my family similarly. In a world that constantly pushes the pill, I have come to learn my own tips and tricks on how to get the world to just chill for a second, to stop the racing heart, and stick to my beliefs as someone who leans towards the natural side of things. Anxiety is a daily struggle for me, and through years of therapy, doctor visits, self-regulation, and (unfortunately for me, but fortunately for you) ignorance, I have learned that there are six things that have genuinely made a difference in my anxiety: staying away from caffeine, taking time while eating, reading before bed, moving my body, tracking my cycle, and taking a genuine breath. Keep in mind, what works for me may not work for you — but from one anxious girly to another, it’s always better to try something than sit in the silent struggle!
- Stay away from caffeine.
Caffeine — while having gotten me through the entirety of my college experience thus far — only fuels the fire that is my mind (and stomach) under the presence of anxiety. Freshman year of undergrad I was drinking a Red Bull a day, and of course skipping breakfast. The criticality of my assignments and social life made me feel like not having my daily dose of caffeine was equivalent to teetering on the brink of failure; however, what I did not acknowledge was the damage that it was doing to the way that I functioned in the bigger picture of my diagnosis. Drinking caffeine for an extended period of time caused my anxiety as a whole to heighten dramatically; I found myself with a much higher amount of anxiety in the mornings, which started my days on the complete wrong foot, leading me to crash in the middle of the day and not feel adept to contribute to classwork or homework (which in itself creates an anxiety). I knew I wasn’t helping myself.
Quitting caffeine was a feat that I had not expected. I was not prepared for the crashes, shakes, cravings, or anger, and while it sounds horrific to go through, it really did help me in the end. I had not realized that caffeine was such a driving factor behind my anxiety, and I have since then been able to regulate it so much more without the side effects of caffeine making it much harder on me. After limiting my caffeine intake, I have noticed that I have a sharper mind later on in the day, and don’t have as many fluctuations in my heart rate.
Some things that I have done instead of drinking caffeine in the mornings that have helped the transition are: making sure that I have some sort of breakfast (and snacks for later in the day), drinking water as soon as I wake up, and trying my best to wake up when my alarm goes off the first time. These things in combination work together to give me the best leg up at the start of my day to battle my anxiety (and actually have a chance to win).
- Take time while eating.
If you’re like me, you eat like there’s someone standing over you waiting to steal your food — and I’m genuinely not sure why. Perhaps eating felt like a chore, or a pause in an otherwise productive day, but nonetheless, I noticed that I wasn’t balancing this time in retrospect to the rest of my day and was rushing to get on with it. I noticed that with particularly large meals, I struggled with overeating because of the pace at which I would eat, not allowing my body to read and respond to the amount of food that I was consuming to tell me I felt full. Overeating is not a fun feeling, for me I feel lethargic, nauseous, and generally sick. When I overate and had to continue on with a busy school schedule, the anxiety ruled over me. Doing anything when you feel sick is not an experience that anyone wishes to have, but with anxiety, the experience can become much worse. For me, I would go into extreme panic mode (especially in school settings). I felt like I couldn’t keep up mentally or physically and had no energy, whereas my classmates seemed to be bursting with it. I was left feeling behind and fuzzy-minded… it was almost cyclical. The more I ate, the more I felt sick, the more I felt anxious, and of course, the more I felt sick.
Taking my time while eating has helped me tremendously. Not only do I allow my body to tell me when it’s full — and therefore avoid the nasty feelings of overeating — but I allow myself to take a pause in my day to take care of myself. I have started to de-capitalize my time; there should be no need to rush to complete assignments or work when it suggests I should put its completion before my health! I use this time to reflect, give myself some TLC, taste my food, and relax.
- Read before bed.
If you struggle with anxiety, you have most likely become well-versed in the nighttime rush of “what ifs” and “should haves.” I can’t even imagine the amount of sleep that I have lost in the past due to these kinds of thoughts, and the worst part about it is that they’re not even helpful. I know that sometimes people think of overthinking as “reflective” or “generative,” however I had noticed that almost every thought I was stuck on started with these “what ifs,” and “should haves.” Recognizing the past as unchangeable works in theory, however it does not stop this overwhelm of thoughts. What I have noticed is that redirecting those thoughts into a larger story, one that is not based on my own life, helps tremendously.
Setting the phone down, stopping the scrolling, and embedding your mind into a story where “what ifs” and “should haves” can be fun is useful for redirecting your anxious thoughts and settling down for bed at the end of the day. I have not only noticed that I have had better sleep, but also that I enjoy winding down for bed more — the period of sleep procrastination is finally ending! Getting good sleep is the best way (in my experience) to establish the potential to have not just a good day, but a great day — away from the constant hum of anxiety.
- Get moving.
We all know this one. Whether it was a therapist, a doctor, or even your family — if you struggle with anxiety, you have most likely been told to “get moving.” I brushed it off at first, saying that I was already active enough, however what I did not consider was how I was moving. Was I moving with the intention of release? Was I giving my body what it needed beforehand? What care was I giving myself afterward? I had not been taking these crucial steps into consideration when I went to workout, and found myself feeling more than drained, but disconnected mind and body, and unmotivated afterwards. My anxiety during my workouts was always intense, and I tried to use it to my advantage, but inevitably felt distracted and worn out mentally at a time where I felt like I needed to push myself. When I started to pay attention to how I was moving, I really started seeing a difference in how I showed up in both the gym and in my life outside of it.
Paying attention to how I was moving meant many different things for me: how much energy did I have that day? Did I eat enough? Had I had a long weekend beforehand? Had I skipped a couple days? These were all questions that I had started to ask myself before showing up at my workout, and I can’t even express how big of a difference it has made. Checking in with myself combined with the physical act of moving however my body felt productive that day, cleared my mind in ways that I had not thought possible. I no longer feel backed into a corner by my movements — and I genuinely enjoy the feeling after moving when I listen to myself. All of this not to mention… your therapist, doctor, family member, etc. was right: moving does help, but only when done with intention.
- Track your cycle.
For my fellow menstruators, I beg: please track your cycle. Before I was paying attention to where my body was in my cycle, I seriously never felt like I was being consistent: whether it was mitigating my anxiety levels, attempting to sleep better, or simply starting a new hobby/practice. I noticed that I would eat foods at certain times of the month that would fuel me like nothing else, but when I went to eat those same foods later — all hell broke loose. Small observations like this drove me to start paying attention to my body as it responded to hormone fluctuations… and let me tell you, it made the world’s difference.
I started using the app Stardust to track where my hormone levels are at any given time of the month. Not only does this help me keep track of my energy levels, but it allows me to track my tolerances, emotions, and general well-being by showing me exactly where my hormone levels are and what stage of my cycle I am in. At first, I was unsure of what to do with this information, but after some time I began to tweak my daily routines around these fluctuations, and I have only seen progress from there! Staying informed about my energy levels in particular was a large part of beginning to manage my anxiety because when you overextend yourself, you’re left feeling anxious, unmotivated, and worn-out when just a small tweak in how you go about your day could make a huge difference.
- When in doubt, take a breather.
This is another one that I always heard. My therapist had this phrase on repeat and of course I never listened (reflecting on this is making me think I perhaps was a bit stubborn when it came to managing my anxiety… don’t be like me). In all reality, when I started employing this idea when it truly mattered I was able to give my body the rest that it begged for. With chronic anxiety, I found that I would silently argue with myself in the back of classrooms, zone out, let my tunnel vision and panic take over. When I let myself feel these things in private, and allowed myself to be for just a moment without feeling forced to seem normal or like “everything’s fine,” I began to get a grip — grow a backbone — when it came to showing my racing thoughts who’s boss.
Whether it’s getting up and leaving class to take a walk, splashing water on my face, grabbing a drink of water, or full on leaving the building for a moment, doing something is always better than doing nothing. I noticed that whenever I gave myself time to feel that I was able to chill out quicker, I could come back to class with a clearer mind, and give myself and my body the rest that it needed in a moment of panic.
Anxiety will never make sense to me: a body that is rigged to constantly tell me that there is something after me — it sounds crazy. I know I use humor to lighten the mood here, but in all reality it can be an extremely disorienting and scary thing to deal with. That fact has pushed me to consider alternate routes from medication because from my point of view and what I have seen, I would rather feel everything all at once than nothing at all! These practices that I use to help me do work, but are only that: practices. They’re not substitutions for medication or an end-all-be-all cure for my anxiety. I chose not to take medication, my anxiety has stayed the same, and I have learned how to make it manageable. I think that is all I ever hoped to do. Keep in mind, what works for me may not work for you, but know that listening to my body has never failed me. Happy healing!