Self Care for Anxiety Relief

Self Care is broad and takes on many different forms for each of us. As a person living with an anxiety disorder, I know how difficult it can be to take the time to apply self care in your life. That’s why I want to share with you my way to self care for anxiety relief.

Just the thought of doing something for myself can trigger anxiety. Participating in a self care activity that’s not advancing my career, doing something productive like answering those 20 thousand emails waiting in my inbox, feels completely counterintuitive.

Focus on What You Can Do

When living with anxiety, it’s important to remember to focus on what you can do and not what you can’t. There’s no point in forcing yourself to do what seems impossible in the moment. Instead, little by little, train your brain in feeling good during those moments that you take for yourself. As you start to feel the benefits of your self care practice, your mind and body will feel more comfortable taking that time.

Incorporate Self Care into Your Schedule

Over the years I’ve found that I respond best to taking time for myself when I include it in my schedule. For example, when I wake up in the morning I always feel like I need to be productive right away. I’m not a morning person so it’s never worked for me to wake up an hour earlier to workout or meditate. Instead of feeling inadequate for not being able to have a morning routine that includes journaling and workouts, I have found something that works for me and my tight morning schedule. I do a 10-minute beditation before I get my day started instead. Ten minutes is all I can swing before I start getting to work. I make the most of those minutes by being completely present in my practice and then I feel refreshed and ready for the day. Within a few weeks of feeling the benefits of my simple routine, I learned to let go of the guilt I felt for taking that time for myself.

• Related post: 5 Steps to Maintaining A Daily Self-Care Routine

It Doesn’t Have to Be Complicated

Some days my morning meditation session is all I do. Some days I’ll add in some yoga poses in the afternoon to get the blood flowing after sitting in front of a computer for a few hours. On days when I have more free time I add a few extra feel good activities. It’s all about balancing your daily routine and doing what feels good and comfortable for you. There’s no point in beating yourself up if you can’t achieve the “ideal” level of self care you truly need.

You’ll only end up discouraged and giving up on something that’s doing so much good to your mental health.

If you’re low on effective self-care ideas for anxiety relief, here are a few things you can try:

Meditation

If meditation is something that interests you, but you’re not sure where to start, try beditations with Betty. I have loved this guided meditation from the moment I tried it. She advertises it as meditation for “real lazy people” and trust me, it really is. It couldn’t be simpler and totally gets the job done. Use code BEDITATE078 for your first month free!

At-Home Yoga

Keeping your physical health in check is a huge component of mental health. If you’re a fan of yoga (even if you’re a beginner), check out this yoga sesh by Adriene targeted for people with anxiety. If you’re looking to get into yoga, this Yoga with Adriene YouTube playlist will help. There’s a yoga video for every mood & situation!

Talk to Someone You Trust

In some cases, someone you trust might be a good friend or a family member, but not in all cases. A lot of people living with anxiety don’t have a great support system for many reasons. If you find yourself in that situation, know that there are always people that can help and willing to listen. You are welcome to connect with Alexis and me through this blog or social media as well! In fact, that is where Alexis and I connected and have related to each other through coping with mental illness. @TravellingWallflower & @ThePetiteIntrovert.

Journaling

Okay, so you’ve probably heard a ton about journaling and still don’t really know how to tackle it. Journaling can take on many forms. Basically, journaling is meant for you to incorporate mindfulness in your day to day. It’s a great time to reflect on the good and bad parts of your day. Maybe there was something you could have done differently to manage your stress. OR maybe you did everything right and it still got the best of you. That’s OK. Journaling is meant to help you get in the habit of acknowledging your feelings and owning them.

Be Creative

This one is my personal favorite. Incorporating creativity in your life will help build new thought patterns. In doing so, it can help you find new ways to heal and find peace of mind. Everyone has a creative side, and it doesn’t have to be arts and crafts if that’s not where your talent lies. It also includes gardening, learning a language, cooking, blogging or blogging about cooking! If you’re having trouble starting, Alexis goes over 7 tricks to start creating and stick with it here!

Carry on your self-care practice at work

Whether you work from home or in an office, there are several little things you can do to relieve stress. It’s where we spend most of our day and it usually is a huge contributor to anxiety. Somehow we still forget to plan our self care for anxiety relief strategy on the job. Find my 5 best tips for self care in the workplace in this post.

There are so many more simple self care solutions to relieve your anxiety. The key is to not let it become an obsession. Don’t let an anxiety relief solution turn into a stressful event that you have to get done or else. True, self care is important for mental stability, but it’s also knowing when and how to incorporate it into your routine.

When you find what suits your needs and schedule, the key is to remain consistent with it. Little by little, any guilt you might feel will subside and you’ll enjoy the full benefits of your efforts.

Bio

Hi, I’m Elle. Deeply introverted I live inside my head most days. When I’m not busy dreaming of adventures and changing the world, I blog about self care. As a freelance writer, my weeks consist of coffee shop dates between my laptop and I. We spend our time scheming ways to help humans live their best lives.

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