I have anxiety. Bad anxiety. The thing with anxiety is that while things like therapy and meditation help you learn more about yourself, those things don’t work for everyone. Therapy is too expensive and time-consuming to have every day and meditation is just waiting for fast-paced, hyper people like myself. Slowly, but surely, I have found different coping mechanisms that help me calm myself down. I’m still learning new ones, but here is what I’ve discovered so far.
Watercolors and painting
I am very much a creative spirit. In preschool, I refused to leave the arts and crafts table. So, when I had to stop therapy for a few weeks, I was in search of another therapeutic thing to help with my anxiety. I had heard of art therapy on social media and it’s a storyline on my mom and my favorite daytime show General Hospital, so I decided to pay for some paint and try it out. It did wonders. Especially because I wasn’t getting graded or had any expectation of it being good. I just had fun. I started making paintings for my friends and family, which they love because I made them with my own two hands, but it also made me feel better. I love abstract painting because no one can tell me it’s bad. It’s up for interpretation. I do dabble in more straightforward pieces like flowers and meadows.
Rewatching TV shows
I love TV. I love growing with characters. I hope to do TV someday. However, it’s really hard for me to start new ones, especially long ones. Since living alone, I find myself rewatching long TV shows that I’ve seen a million times like One Tree Hill and The Vampire Diaries franchise because it’s comfortable. I love the characters. I can also be productive, by doing my homework or cooking my meals, without missing something important. It’s also something proven that people with anxiety like to watch the same shows and movies over and over again.
Lazy workouts
I have wanted a weighted hula hoop for a long time. I have Scoliosis and received spinal fusion surgery, which makes ab exercises even harder. So, a weighted hula hoop has helped me a lot with making my torso, my biggest insecurity, stronger. I do it when I watch TV or wait for my food to be done boiling.
I also really like to go on walks. I listen to 10-20 of my favorite songs and just walk around my apartment complex. It’s a nice break in the middle of the day and as someone who loves staying home, it’s nice to get out for a walk at least.
Calling your parents
I am very lucky that I have such great parents, and often it helps me to talk things through or hear how things are at home, especially with my dog, who is everything to me. I don’t necessarily get homesick, but it is comforting.
Doing something with my hands
I HATE waiting. I am the most impatient person I know. So, just doing something helps. My cousin gave me this rubber bubble wrap popping toy that helps me so much. It gives me something to do, even if it is unproductive.
Showering
Something as simple as showering can immediately make you feel more relaxed. And as I’ve recently found out from fellow Her Campus girls, sitting in the shower can be the most relaxing thing ever. Give it a try. Your whole world will change.
Pacing
Pacing is also another thing I do just to do something and not stay still in my own head. Moving can help me move past it and instead be thriving, or at least be okay.