Taking Control of Anxiety Instead of Letting it Control You

“Shouldn’t you be, like, worried?”
“About what?”
“Idk.”
“Omg you’re right!” 😰

^ A meme I saw about a conversation between you and anxiety.

If you struggle with anxiety—like myself—you’re familiar with how spot on that meme is.

Anxiety will lurk in the corner, sneak up on you, and take your breath away. Sometimes for reasons you can’t even pinpoint.

It just wanted to say hello and remind you that it still exists.

Oh, hello, anxiety. You again.

Dealing with anxiety on a regular basis is relatively new for me. It didn’t start happening until last year—around this time. And because it was somewhat foreign to me, I had absolutely no fucking idea what to do with it and how to deal with it. I’d walk around panicked, completely consumed, unable to process thoughts clearly, feeling like I was on the verge of breaking down.

And sometimes I did.

Can you relate? Crippling, isn’t it?

While anxiety still creeps up on me—pretty often, tbh—I finally discovered tools to help manage it when it does.

First, it‘s important decipher between what feeds it power and what actually helps it. In the past, feeling anxious instantly perpetuated thoughts of judgement:

Why am I anxious?
I don’t want to feel this way.
It’s not going away.
Omg. I’m so anxious!!!!

This only exacerbated it. Instead, I invite you to acknowledge its existence, without resistance.

From there, figure out what YOU need to feel grounded. Typically, anxiety comes from being energetically out of your body. The energy gets trapped in your chest, throat, and head space.
⠀
So, bring awareness to your lower body. Take deep belly breaths, feel into your legs, and wiggle your toes.

You’re breath is the most reliable and powerful tool to bring you back into body and the present moment.

The next time you’re feeling anxious: take a deep inhale for four seconds, pause for two, exhale for six, pause again for two, and repeat.