If you’re anything like me or the other 46.1 percent of college kids in America, you struggle with anxiety daily.
Whether it’s generalized anxiety, social anxiety or testing anxiety, all of it quite simply sucks and is hard to manage on a daily basis–but there are ways to keep it tamed and managed as I’m sure you know.
Another thing I’m sure you know is that it’s hard to manage it if you’re, let’s say, having an anxiety in class. You don’t want anyone staring at you but you can’t always take a walk outside or do yoga or meditate because well, you’re in class. But don’t worry–there’s still hope!
Check out all of these awesome items you can buy on Amazon to help your anxiety while you’re in lecture, walking to class or anything else in between.
Stress Ball
This may just be the most typically used and old school way to get rid of unwanted stress while in the classroom or another not ideal environment, but boy does it work. It’s great to calm you down and get out any anger you’re holding onto–and the best part is it fits in right in your coat pocket and you can use it in secret underneath your desk! Check out how cute the ones offered online are.
Silly Putty and Play-Doh
Another great small item to bring into class with you during days where you feel on edge is good ol’ Silly Putty or Play-Doh. If I remember correctly, these were always given out to the children in elementary school after they had been crying about something—whether it was someone being mean to them or a bad test grade (sounds familiar, huh?), the teacher always knew it’d do the trick. Similar to the stress ball, you can easily squeeze it and mold it and use it to help relax and get rid of that anxiety—all while hiding the fact that you’re having a mini panic attack and holding back tears. Check them out!
Silly Putty here and Play-Doh here!
Coloring Book
This is something that has surely been popular for decades, but recently “Adult Coloring Books” have been noted by American Art Therapy Association as a great technique to help relax. Even though you might feel as if you should be taking notes or paying attention during class, let’s be honest—you won’t be able to do either if you’re having a meltdown. So instead of putting more stress on your shoulders and trying to get down everything the teacher says, give yourself ten minutes to color and ten minutes to relax. I advise packing a distressing coloring book in your backpack to have ready for any quick fixes during an anxiety attack. You can get all kinds of different designs from Amazon so pick the one that makes you happiest!
Water
You may be reading this and saying in your head that you never go anywhere without water or a water bottle! But stop right there—do you bring it with you because you think you’ll get thirsty? Or do you bring it with you because you think you’ll have an anxiety attack? Believe it or not, drinking cold water (or splashing some on your face, also known as Hydrotherapy) is proven to decrease stress hormones. Of course if you don’t have water that’s cold, any water will work too—but keep it in mind next time you’re not feeling 100 percent. Check out the water bottles here!