At the Optimist Daily, we don’t feel the need to constantly discuss all the things going on in the world today that are causing people to feel anxious. What we do believe, however, is that we can provide some guidance and share self-care practices that can help people curb their anxiety and start feeling better.
Recently, clinical psychologist Jennifer Guttman wrote a piece in PsychologyToday with 4 simple self-care techniques that can help reduce anxiety. You can find those techniques below.
Focus on one thing: It’s OK to address the issues in your life that might be provoking anxiety. What’s not OK is ruminating about the unknown and “what if’ scenarios that might be floating around your head. Re-focus on the immediate tasks that induce anxiety and approach them one issue at a time. Most importantly, remember to stay in the moment.
Stop thought spirals: As much as we can think about all the stress-inducing things happening in the world right now, it’s not going to solve anything and will only lead you into negative thought spirals. The next time you feel yourself being overwhelmed by negative thoughts, try to actively move your thoughts to a more productive problem-solving approach or an appealing topic. If you do this enough, you will reprogram your brain and conjure the ability to disrupt negative thought spirals when they’re happening.
Test your competence: We all have fears that can cause us to feel stress and anxiousness. Instead of avoiding them, try to face one of your fears. By doing so, you test your competence and develop faith in your problem-solving skills, which can give your self-confidence a boost.
Engage in self-care: We live in a society that praises productivity, so you might constantly feel inclined to keeping doing one more piece of work. Stop! Step away from the computer and give yourself time to focus on improving your mental health. When you take time out of your day to decompress, rest, or do something you love like listen to music, you then reduce elevated cortisol levels, which are linked to stress. Even if it’s just 15 minutes per day, make sure you have some time to engage in self-care.
