6 Unconventional Ways To Banish Anxiety
April 8, 2008 | In Changing Mindset - Action Steps |
Over the past few days, I’ve had waves of anxiety pass over me for seemingly no reason at all. They are not as strong as panic attacks, but I feel the fear in my stomach and my heart starts to beat faster. Usually, taking a few deep breaths eases the feeling. Alternatively, if I have a few minutes to meditate, that helps too. However, I’m sure you’ve heard these tips for calming down before. Exercise, eating right, getting enough sleep, deep breathing, we all know those tricks. What if we don’t want to do any of that? What if we want something new to distract our mind? Here are six ideas for just those occasions.
1. Play Poker. Well, it doesn’t have to be poker. It could be any game that gets you to think. Recently, I’ve really taken a liking to Texas Hold ‘Em. I read books, watch it on TV, and even play with John occasionally. The last time we played, I did much better than previously. Spending time thinking about it helped me to understand some of the more subtle aspects of the game.
Now, when I feel anxious, one of the things I do that helps is to concentrate on a game of poker, whether I’m actually playing or not. I find that the dynamics of the game engage my mind and distract me from the anxiety. What also helps is that the game has some strategy, so I have control over how I play my hand. This sense of control helps as well.
Other games that will make you think: Solitaire, Freecell, Soduku, or Chess. Whatever the game, it should have some strategy and concentration.
2. Color in a coloring book. The other day, John bought me a Hello Kitty coloring book. I love how it is thick and full of easy to color pictures. I got out my crayons and colored pencils and had fun coloring the first picture. Combining the fun of the childish coloring book with the preciseness of the adult choice of color and shading took my mind right off the anxiety. I also got a sense of pride from filling in the spaces on the page and making it look much like the preprinted professional image on the cover.
The best thing about coloring books may be how common they are. They are cheap and come with lots of choices of subject. Crayons are very easy to find as well - heck even restaurants have the packs of three or four for children to use.
That brings to mind another idea - do the activities on the place mat the next time you go to a restaurant. That can help ease any anxiety created by having to wait for your seat or by bad service.
Having fun takes your mind away from the fear to a place of happiness and security. Although talking to a friend or watching a movie may have the same effect, pulling out a coloring book and crayons can be done even if you can’t find someone else and it doesn’t take as long as watching a movie either. It can work on a picture for an hour if you have the time, or just for a five minute break.
3. Step outside for a few minutes. This accomplishes three things: you get a change of scenery, you get some fresh air, and you get to experience nature, no matter what the weather. Wherever you are, whether work or home, stepping outside will give your eyes something new to focus on for a few minutes. You don’t have to think, just enjoy getting away from your familiar surroundings for a time.
If you think that the air outside may not be as fresh because you live in a smoggy city, you may not be aware that experts estimate that most buildings have so many chemicals in the air that even smoggy cities have fresher air outside than in. At the very least, the air inside is recycled and probably stale. If outside is super hot and humid, then even going outside will make you appreciate the inside air more. Either way, the contrast will help relieve the anxiety.
No matter what the weather, it’s something you can’t control. Taking a few minutes to put your worry in perspective to the weather can help tremendously with relieving that worry. If it’s sunny, the sun itself will boost your mood. If it’s pouring with rain, you can know that at least you’re not the only one dealing with avoiding getting wet. You could also choose to think of the rain washing away your worries. Whatever you choose to think, or if you choose not to think at all, enjoying the weather, no matter how “bad” can easy a lot of worry.
4. Clean your desk. Or your car, or your living room, or your kitchen. The point is to take conscious control over something that you know you can influence. Unlike stepping outside and yielding control to the weather to ease your mind, actively taking control of your surrounding will ease worry. You can’t control the mood of your boss, you can’t stop your husband from being cranky. However, you can clean, or straighten. You can make order out of chaos, even if only in a 2×2 food square.
Worry comes about because we fear something we can’t control. There are a lot of things and events we can’t control, but there are also a lot of things and events we can control. Taking action to change something, even something minor, tells our emotions that not all is hopeless. We can affect some things. And maybe it will give us inspiration on a way we can have some control over the big things as well.
5. If it’s been at least 2 hours since you last ate, eat something. I used to have a friend who would go shopping with me just about every weekend. Even if we never bought anything, we would still walk around and window shop. These marathon sessions always lasted several hours. Inevitably, there would come a point where she would say, seemingly out of the blue, “Let’s go eat.” If I looked at her funny, she would reply, “You’re getting cranky, you need some food.”
Now, I can’t be the only one who gets “cranky” when I’m hungry, even if I don’t realize I’m cranky. Not only do I get frustrated and irritated easily, but I start to worry about stupid little things. Am I out of cat food? Did I remember to turn off the light? What the heck was I supposed to pick up at Wal*Mart?
Not only does stopping to eat slow me down and bring me back to the present, but the food itself gives my system fuel to work with. Cars don’t run well, or far, on fumes, and neither do humans. The general recommendation is to eat a small meal every few hours. So, even if you don’t feel hungry, if it’s been at least 2 hours since you last ate, you very well are probably low on fuel. That doesn’t mean you need to eat a huge meal, but eating something small, like a granola bar, will help.
6. Drink a big glass of cold water. Yes, we know that we are supposed to drink 8 glasses of water a day, or so many ounces per pound. This tip doesn’t have anything to do with that. For me, drinking a big glass of really cold water is a great way to bring me back to the present. The water cools down my mouth and cools all the way down to my stomach. In the same way that drinking hot chocolate or coffee warms us up, drinking cold water does the opposite. It helps give our system a little shock.
If the thought of drinking water makes you grimace, then drink iced tea or lemonade or Crystal Light. Just make sure it is cold and light. Heavy drinks won’t do.
Alternatively, you could wipe your forehead with a cool cloth or run cold water over your wrists. The feeling of all of these is refreshment. And I don’t know anyone who feels worse after feeling refreshed. Since anxiety is the opposite of feeling good, this is bound to have at least a little effect on your worry.
The next time that anxiety strikes and you feel overwhelmed, try one of the tricks above. All are different than the standard ideas, which may be enough to ease the worry.
If you have any other nonstandard ideas or any comments on the ideas above, I would love to hear them below.
Photo Credits: Poker by Guylaine2007; Crayons by chefranden; Outside Building by S. Simon; Clean Desk by cambodia4kidsorg; Meal by jetalone; Glass of Water by yoppy
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Links to related topics: Being Present, Child's Perspective, Connecting With Others, Conscious Mind, Encouragement, Having Fun, Inspiration, Meditation, Mindset, Personal Control, Personal Power, Poker, Pride, Self Expression, Taking Action
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A sexual fantasy.
Depends where you are of course. (And that it isn’t this that you are anxious about!)
First - I would like to say that I really am mad at WordPress/my host/Better Comments Manager Plugin (whichever is responsible) right now. This is the third time I’m replying to this comment because the first two just disappeard. *Poof!*
Second - getting on with my reply.
Ah, yes, sexual fantasy. I was thinking about this idea and how to respond. I realized that all fantasies (sexual or just daydreams) are a way that we get to play out what we really would like to have in life. They show us a glimpse of our dreams/goals. And, anything that can accomplish this gives us some hope, which is a perfect way to banish or at least ease anxiety, in my opinion.
With regards to your second point, that if sex or sexuality is what we are anxious about, then it is quite possible that this will increase anxiety. I agree with this, but I wonder if it might help after all. Is it possible that it would also allow us to play out a scenario that is the way we really want it to occur? This may, in turn, give us inspiration/ideas on how to make it better out in the world. I would have to test this theory to see if it worked it practice, but it makes sense on the surface. (At least I think so!)
I guess it will be fun to test the theory.
Hi,
Thanks for showing my clean desk at New Year’s — right now it is a mess. an indicator of how stressed out I am.