Managing Anxiety: Beyond Medication

My cats always come cuddle with me when I'm not in a happy place

Casting my cares on Jesus cause He cares for me and try to leave it in His hands and turning my worries into prayers and leaning on him when I’m nervous about life. Knowing that God hasn’t given Me the spirit of fear so I know He doesn’t want me to worry or live in constant fear Breathing from my nose like I’m smelling a flower then blowing out like I’m blowing out a birthday cake Telling myself I’m worthy, I’m enough, being myself is enough I pet my dog who is almost like an emotional support dog I listen to music or sing, especially ones that go with my situation I’m going through (Christian and others) I go outside a lot

I have started taking magnesium it helps if only for a little while and also I use cooling cloths I don’t know why but a nice cold cloth helps me so much..

Vitamins/Supplements, journaling, breathing techniques, drawing, crafting, anything to recharge my batteries when I feel drained (which heightens my anxiety). Eliminating toxic people from life. Cognitive therapy. So many different things you can try.

I am meditating and trying to complete at least 3 goals a day. That way anything extra I do I feel better about. Uts hard and most days the goal is just getting out bed but I'm trying.

I have a paint by numbers app and a My Little Pony coloring app on my phone. 😂 they help redirect my focus, but also they don’t require my full mental capacity so I’m able to use them while I’m watching a movie or something like that. I also have a teeny tiny Slinkie I like to play with and a hematite stone to rub. I actually keep the hematite in my car because driving gives me soooo much anxiety. My partner got me a couple of adult pacifiers too, and those help me a lot, although they definitely wouldn’t be for everyone. My therapist sent me a bunch of small vials of bubbles (like the party favor size lol) to use when I can too. They’re very distracting, which I find to be effective. Because who doesn’t love bubbles? As I’m sure you’ve noticed, a lot of what helps me are items typically intended for children, which embarrassed me for a while, but my therapist managed to convince me that if it’s not hurting anyone, who cares?Disney shows/movies have become a go-to for me when I’m so anxious I become nonverbal. I have a bunch of stuffies and coloring books. My partner is very supportive of me and does small things like make me mac and cheeze and chick’n nuggets when I need food that makes me happy. Having a good support system has become so beneficial for me. As well as being an open book when it comes to my mental health. Realizing my triggers and communicating them to the people closest to me has made a lot of my anxiety avoidable. For example, I don’t go to Whole Foods anymore. For some reason I have an anxiety attack every time I go. So I just don’t. 🤷‍♀️ My partner goes when we need our water dispenser bottles filled, and I give him a list of a few items that we need or want. Trial and error is how I discovered 99% of these things.

Meditation, art, breathing exercises, writing, and cooking really help me. I do deep breathing and meditations when I'm having panic attacks and self expression throughout the day to kinda keep me zen

i take kratom— it works WONDERS but it is addicting so i’d recommend doing a lottt of research beforehand. they sell it in many vape stores, you just have to be over 18. if you don’t take it regularly it won’t be physically habit forming. it’s basically saved my life. the red strains are intended to calm down anxiety