I’ve suffered from anxiety since I was 3 years old, and during that time I’ve discovered a wide variety of strategies to help me cope with it. I encourage you to try each strategy so you can find the best one for you and I hope my personal strategies to conquer anxiety can help you in a time of need. These strategies will take work but the more you practice, the better the results will be.

Deep breathing

This strategy might sound basic, but I approach this in a unique way. You might be shocked to learn that deep breathing doesn’t mean taking long breaths and making loud noises as you inhale and exhale. When I started deep breathing, I would lay on my bead, take a book, and place it on my stomach. When I breathed in, I would try to get the book to rise up with my breath without making any noise. I would inhale for a duration of 4 seconds or so and exhale for 6 seconds or so. I would exhale for longer because panic attacks are often caused by hyperventilating (breathing in too much). After I got used to it, I took the book off. Make sure that you breathe in from your stomach and not your chest for the best results.

5- finger breathing

5 finger breathing is another good one. To start, place a hand out in a high-five position. Take your other hand and place your pointer finger on the edge (side) of your thumb. Breathe in for 4 seconds and guide the finger to the top of your thumb. Hold your breath for 4 seconds and glide your finger down between your thumb and second finger as you breathe out. Repeat this until you reach your pinky and then swap hands. If you don’t understand me, feel free to search this up online. 

Meditation

Starting around the age of 10, I began approaching meditation in a unique way! I would picture a place called “Cloud Land”, where I would visualize myself being up in the sky in a heaven-like scene. In cloud land lived my favorite things. For me, cloud land was filled with cats and bunnies and other animals that were calming and relaxing. I would “stay in cloudland” for 10 minutes or so and gradually come back. This one takes some practice but it always leaves me feeling more refreshed. Alternatively, you can picture a relaxing place that you would like to travel to, like the beach or the top of a mountain.

I hope these three strategies will help you manage your anxiety. I will make more posts like this if you want. I plan to cover exercise and a healthy daily routine in my next post. Have a good day 🙂