It’s that time of year. The clocks go back, and the time changes, as the holidays start to creep around the corner and the end of the semester—and year—is approaching. For me, this time of year is when my stress and anxiety start to go through the roof. I have developed some unique and successful coping strategies that get me through tough times with my anxiety, and I hope these tips can be helpful to you, too.
- Switch negatives into positives.
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I know some days can be challenging to get out of bed, whether you’re dreading going to school or work or simply having to see that one person you don’t like.
I used to experience this dread a lot when I played volleyball and had to go to practice. I wouldn’t want the coach to yell at me and make me feel like I was doing worse than the other girls. I would drag my feet all day until I got to practice. Once I got there, I felt so nervous the whole time. Entire days would be ruined because of this negative thinking until one day I told myself, “I am so excited to go home and shower after volleyball practice!” This gave me something to look forward to.
Whenever there is something you don’t want to do, think of an aspect of it you are excited about. Don’t want to go to work? Think about how comfy your bed will feel when you go home. Don’t want to do an assignment? Think about what a relief it will be to have it done.
You attract the energy you put out, so if you’re only putting out negative thoughts, you’ll never be able to enjoy what you’re doing. It’s important to switch those negative thoughts into positives to appreciate the little wins in your daily life.
- 1, 2, 3… GO!
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Anxious minds can trick us into doing amazing things out of fear of the worst possible outcome. I have social anxiety, which makes it difficult for me to be alone in public places, so I started convincing myself I didn’t need to avoid going somewhere simply because I didn’t want to go alone. I’ve spent hours in my car trying to build the courage to get out and go into a store. Now I tell myself, “1, 2, 3… GO!”
Whenever you’re too anxious to do something, give yourself a three-second countdown and then do it. Don’t give your brain enough time to convince yourself to stop. Once you start and are in motion, continue to build that momentum, and don’t let anything stop you, whether it’s putting one foot in front of the other to go into a store or taking one breath at a time during a phone interview.
- Use your imagination
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At the end of the day, anxiety is your brain using your imagination against you. Your brain is thinking of the worst things that could happen to you to prevent you from doing something. However, you can also use your imagination to your benefit.
The night before my first day of work at the movie theater, my stomach was in knots. I thought of the worst-case scenario: getting yelled at by customers, being isolated from my coworkers, burning myself with butter from the popcorn machine, or even being fired on my first day. Then I thought about the best-case scenario, which was becoming friends with all my coworkers, getting kudos from all the customers I interacted with, and not making a single mistake the entire day. Both of those extremes are highly unlikely, and the reality of what happens will fall somewhere between.
Whenever you are anxious about an event or doing something, start by imagining the absolute worst-case scenario. Then imagine the most wonderful, amazing, fantastic best-case scenario. Once you think of the worst and best-case scenarios, then the reality of what could happen becomes a little less scary and more manageable.
Anxiety is meant to prepare us, not deter us from doing what we want to grow and succeed. I know anxiety can be the thief of joy sometimes, so I hope these tips and my personal experiences were able to give you some help and reassure you that you’re not alone. Remember to just take life day by day.