Just like happiness and joy, stress and anxiety are also a key part of life; everyone has their anxious moments.
As normal as anxiety is, too much of it can lead to a serious dip in self-confidence, mindful skills, and overall health. That is why you should always try to calm your anxious mind at all times.
But how can you manage to do this on your own? Here are seven simple steps:
Steps to Calm an Anxious Mind
1. Be kind to yourself
If you are like many people, your anxiety is exacerbated by your constant self-loathing and criticism. Of course, anxiety is emotionally hurting and sometimes extremely painful, but you need to make a genuine effort to rise above it.
You need to realize that you are the author of your own destiny, even in the face of failure and despair.
Other people might doubt and even judge you, but you should try to compensate by loving yourself, being kind to yourself, and being slow to judge your actions negatively.
Always attempt to interrupt negative lines of thought by thinking about the many positive achievements you’ve had in the past.
In any case, even if you fail in the life project at hand, that is never the end of you. Be kind to yourself no matter the circumstances.
2. Repurpose Your Anxious Energy
Why and when do you get anxious?
Is it a result of the nervousness that comes with expectancy?
Do you get anxious when you feel like your task is too strenuous or too complex for your skills?
If you could identify what makes you anxious and to what extent, you can always get on top of things by repurposing that energy to more productive activities.
Anxiety is, in most cases, a buildup of negative energy that, if not released or rechanneled fast, can be destructive.
When you get active a few hours before receiving that anxiously-awaited news, you easily repurpose the building anxious energy.
You can try petting your pets, attending to your garden, taking a walk, reading a book, or going to the gym.
3. Engage a Life Coach
Anxiety (and stress) is, in some cases, an involuntary reaction that your body and mind have towards a seemingly tough life situation.
The panic or tense mode that sets in whenever you are confronted by “tough” questions and situations is a mental and physical response to your own (sometimes self-made) fears. But you can tailor this response differently and make it less stressful.
The good thing is that you don’t have to do this on your own. You can always engage a life coach who will walk you through your panic attacks and anxious moments with the utmost understanding, love, and professionalism so that you can feel more at ease.
4. Tune into Your Senses
This strategy is great for diverting your thoughts to better, less stressful things. It is simple: Simply tune in to one of your senses and try to capture the moment. Take a keen interest in what you are seeing or smelling.
How good is the taste of the food or drink that you are having right now?
Do you love what you are hearing?
Immerse yourself in whichever sense that’s making you happy and confident.
5. Separate Speculations from Facts
Maybe you are anxious because something at the back of your mind is telling you that you are bound to fail.
Maybe your mind is fixated on your chances of being rejected in your job application or marriage proposal.
Whatever the case, just know that there is always room for failure and success in everything you do.
Tell your mind that even though you acknowledge the possibility of failure, it doesn’t mean that you will certainly fail. Those fears you are having are merely speculative. None of them is factual.
6. Calm Down
Your heart is pounding because you are letting your imagination run wild. You are breathing heavily because you have allowed things to speed up all around you. You are losing control of your life. Try to calm things down. Whisper to yourself: “It is well.”
7. Focus on the Bigger Picture
Maybe you are getting anxious because you are limiting your focus to a narrow aspect of your life instead of broadening your focus to the bigger picture.
Is this problem a “today” thing or a lifetime-relevant issue? If you fail today, will you care about it next year or after five years?
If it won’t be relevant later in life, if you still have another chance to make things right, for as long as you will be breathing at the end of it all, then it is not worth the stress.
About the Author
Rilind Elezaj is a devoted career specialist who trained at Animas Coaching. He helps people make career choices that feel genuinely right for them. He usually helps the individual evaluate their background, curiosities, passions and training so that they can choose a job, business or type of further education that helps them be successful and fulfilled. When he is not helping others, you can find him exploring the deepness of nature.
