I grew up believing that mental illness and mental disorders only looked like straight jackets, prescription pills, and psychiatric hospitals, or the “crazy house” as those around me would say. This was partially due to images depicted on television. Another reason being the environment that I grew up in and seeing my family members suffer with mental health issues. It wasn’t until a few years ago that I realized that mental health issues can appear in many forms. One of those forms being anxiety. Anxiety can look like the super woman of a mother that secretly obsesses over her small children eating the healthiest food and stresses about not having a college fund already in place even though they haven’t started preschool yet. It can wear the face of the ambitious college student losing her hair and hiding behind weaves because she’s afraid that she many not achieve her goals and will let her entire family down that’s counting on her to break the generational curse. Anxiety can be dressed up as the career woman that silently deals with panic attacks because she’s afraid that she’s not fully pursuing her purpose and that she has more to do in life. It can appear as the perfectionist that stresses over every detail and is too hard on herself. It can show up as the woman always multitasking because she takes on too many responsibilities in an attempt to have control. I know because I am her. I have been all of the above. I am guilty of still putting the masks on every now and then and finding myself off balance. Thankfully, I have found ways to manage and get grounded. While I highly recommend therapy and seeking professional help for any issues related to mental health, the following have also been helpful to me along my healing journey in managing anxiety.
Schedule Planning
Anxiety can stem from being fearful and worrying too much about the future. Choose a time each day to plan and brainstorm for the future and reorder any priorities and goals that need to be changed or adjusted to stay on task. I prefer to do this at night before bed. Of course, find what works best for you.
Gratitude
It is easy to focus on what we don’t have and get anxious to get more. Try making a gratitude list of what you appreciate in your life when you find yourself feeling anxious or in a place of lack. I try to do this at the beginning of each day. It makes a world of difference.
More Gratitude
Its also easy to place our focus on what we have not accomplished or what we need to get done and we forget about all that we’ve overcome and the many ways that we have succeeded already. Writing down a list of all of your accomplishments can help with feeling anxious about goals and aspirations. Also a baby version of this is to write down anything you marked off of your to do list, accomplished, or overcame for the day before going to bed at night.
Journaling
One of my favorite methods of self-care. It doesn’t have to be complicated. Simply write as little or as much as you’d like to express your feelings. This increases self-awareness and provides a safe outlet for emptying your thoughts. I also like to journal affirmations.
Find a Solution
How many of the things that we worry about do we have control over? Make a list of things that are causing you to worry and stress. Go back over the list and circle the things that you can control or actively change. Find a solution for each one and make an action plan to change them. Remember not to tackle all things in one day or even one week depending on how long your list is. If you can’t change the things that you did not circle, leave those on the paper and free yourself of those burdens.
Nature
Spend at least 30 minutes outside a day. If you can’t do a full 30 minutes, 10 will work. Simply being outside can change your mood and boost your energy levels.
Music
Listening to meditation music and healing frequencies helps and can be done while doing just about anything. I recommend 528 HZ music. YouTube has great tones for this. I enjoy listening to this one before bed at night. It also helps calm my toddler down and helps my newborn fall asleep. Triple win!
Meditation
Meditation has many benefits including becoming more aware of your thoughts, spiritual healing, managing emotions, mental clarity, expanding consciousness, and increased levels of energy. There are different ways to meditate and I recommend experimenting and finding what works best for you.
Crystals
Crystals are living organisms and their energies can be used for an alternative method for healing. The amethyst stone is a great stone for healing anxiety. I recently used my amethyst stone in the delivery room a few weeks ago while undergoing 28 hours of labor. I was definitely anxious with all of the moving parts surrounding this time. using my crystal helped me calm down and trust that all would be well. Crystals can be purchased at metaphysical stores or ordered online.
Breathing
Practicing mindful breathing, paying attention to inhaling and exhaling along with taking deep breaths is another simple way to manage anxiety. This helps me return to peace and reconnect with the Creator in a way that reassures me that all is well.
Remember we have the power to transform our pain into power, our sorrow into solutions, and our fears into faith. I hope this helps you along your journey.
