Life can get stressful, and finding ways to help ease that anxiety is extremely important. That is what crosswords have done for me.
I have always had a love for crosswords. When I was younger, I would steal my mom’s newspapers and attempt to traverse the confusing boxes and their aptly confusing hints. Granted, I was just learning how to read when I began my relationship with this game, and did not understand any literary references; I still enjoyed filling in the boxes with nonsensical answers. Now, my relationship with crosswords has changed. Whenever I feel overwhelmed or restless, especially before I go to sleep, I do a crossword. It calms my thoughts and forces me to focus on something removed from my worries.
I will be the first to admit that I get very frustrated when I do not succeed at something, and more embarrassingly, when I do not succeed at something on my first try. I am not an overachiever by any means, which would be fitting for my confession, but I never want to try something that I do not think I will be good at. That was my initial hesitation when it came to practicing crossword puzzles as an adult.
I thought: What if I don’t get this reference? Does that make me dumb? This is just going to stress me out more.
Notably, I was very wrong. I love not only knowing the answers to ridiculously convoluted questions, but also learning new references and words. I started doing these puzzles again when I went home for summer break after my first year at college. I could not get used to being more than 1,000 miles away from my friends, and at night, my thoughts felt uncontrollable. I had a lot of trouble sleeping, and that’s when I decided to distract myself.
I had often been told to do something “boring”, such as reading, to fall asleep, but I find that reading when I’m stressed is terrible. I think about all the things I’m stressing over, lose my place in my reading, and have to start all over. It’s a never-ending cycle. Crosswords are different to me. They require active thought and allow me to distract myself.
This isn’t to say crosswords are a miracle that will ease everyone’s stress, but I will say it is worth trying. I get anxious very easily, and rather than journaling or meditating, I have found that exercising my mind eases a lot of my tension. It can get frustrating when you get stuck on a particular section, but the game will be there when you return, and you can always take a guess; there are no penalties.
Taking time out of your day to do something interactive and stimulating will feel so much more fulfilling than scrolling on social media. Crosswords, while simplistic in nature, allow me to recenter my thinking and properly slow down to a point where my anxiety eases. It can feel weird trying new things, especially something that seems so dull, but in reality, it can do wonders for making yourself more present in the moment.
It is important to slow down and relax, and I encourage you to practice crossword puzzles and see just how grounding they can be.
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