7 Effective Anxiety Coping Strategies

Living with anxiety can be tough. But there are strategies that can help you manage it. Let’s explore seven effective anxiety coping strategies that can help you keep your anxiety in check.

Practise relaxation techniques for anxiety relief

One of the best ways to manage anxiety is to practise relaxation techniques. Deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, meditation, and yoga are all techniques that can help you calm your mind and body. All of these ideas have been around for literally thousands of years. But they take practise, and time!
There are a heap of apps out there that might help you get started with all of these techniques. We’ve shared some of our favourites on our Resources page! Check ’em out below! 👇

Challenge negative thoughts

It might be that your anxiety stems from negative thoughts and beliefs. And our minds can be proper little rascals, trying to convince us that we’re the worst human to ever exist. Which can be exhausting! If you notice a negative thought come into your brain, try to challenge it!

Ask yourself: “is this thought true?” “Is this thought realistic?” “Where is this thought coming from?” and “Is this thought helpful?”

A lot of the time, the thoughts that our brains tell us, aren’t true or realistic. But exploring (without beating yourself up for thinking these thoughts!) where they come from, and whether it’s helpful or not, can help you change your perspective. This in turn, can help reduce anxiety.

Reduce anxiety with regular exercise

Worth noting here, that anxiety might not come from some logical thought. We can’t always ✨think✨ ourselves out of anxiety. It can just be a very physiological reaction (your body’s very clever fight or flight response!). There’s a theory out there that we need to do something physical to help our bodies feel like they’ve “completed” the fight or flight response, and removed us from the danger.
So, if you’re anything like me, and you hate gym class. Sorry. But exercise is great – even beyond helping to reduce anxiety! Exercising releases hormones that reduce stress, and boost your mood (you might’ve heard of endorphins before!). And it doesn’t have to be hitting the gym. Literally just going for a 30 minute walk can have this same effect.
We shared some thoughts about exercise – and how it helps with your body’s physical resilience in a video! Give it a watch below! 👇

Limit caffeine and alcohol to manage anxiety

Both caffeine and alcohol can increase anxiety and make it more difficult to manage. I write this as an avid coffee fan. It’s heartbreaking. But it’s true. Being smart about what you put into your body can lead to some big wins in your brain. This is also a good tip because it’s something you can do pro-actively before anxiety really gets a hold of you. Opt for some good ole’ water, or something like a herbal tea. Especially if it’s after noon. It’ll help with our next tip..!

Get enough sleep and alleviate anxiety symptoms

I think we can all relate to needing to get more sleep! But if you’re not getting enough sleep, it can make the symptoms of anxiety worse. We shared some top tips on getting a good night’s sleep on our blog. Hit the button below to give it a read! But in a nutshell, a couple things that can help:
– Avoid screens before bed (we get it. It’s hard. But worth it!).
– Give yourself a schedule for winding down before bedtime (and stick to it!).
– Journal! (I feel like this should be in every piece of advice we share. It’s wicked).

These are also handy as anxiety coping strategies in themselves!

Practise Mindfulness to reduce anxious thoughts

“Hang on, didn’t you already talk about mindfulness at the top?!” I hear you ask. Well. Sorta. But mindfulness as a whole is just about giving your full attention to the present moment – without judgement. Doing any activity mindfully, can mean it’s more helpful than doing the same activity but just going through the motions.

An example I often give is that I love to play video games. But there’s a difference between me being bored on a Sunday and playing Call of Duty for 6 hours, and me catching my anxious, overthinking brain, so playing some games to switch off for a little bit. I’m doing the same activity in both cases, but actively telling myself that it’s some “me time” helps make gaming a much more helpful activity for me.

Of course, mindfulness can also involve things like focussing on your breath and paying full attention to your surroundings. Grounding 5-4-3-2-1 is one of our favourite anxiety coping strategies!

Seek professional help for severe anxiety

If your anxiety is getting to a point where it’s severe, and having a huge impact on your life, it’s worth spending some time talking to a professional. Yes, all the stuff above is gonna help manage your anxiety, but speaking to a therapist or a counsellor can help get to the root cause of your anxiety.

We get it. It can be hard speaking to someone you don’t know. It might seem kinda scary. But these people are on your side, and it’s their literal job to help you out. So be brave – even if it means bringing a pal or a family member along for some support. Therapy takes time, but trust me when I say it’s worth it.

It might also be worth speaking to your GP and seeing what they could recommend in terms of treatments, if you want to explore the route of medication. Hub of Hope is a useful tool for finding support in your local area.

Some final thoughts

Managing your anxiety is possible. These are just 7 ideas of anxiety coping strategies that might work for you. But if they don’t, that’s ok. We can find something else that might work! Everyone’s experience with anxiety is unique, so you gotta find what works for you.

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