Today, I’m going to show you 9 ways to deal with anxiety, stress, and fear. Right now, there’s a bunch of good reasons to feel anxiety, stress, and fear because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Our flight, fight, freeze DNA that has adapted over thousands of years and was designed to help keep us safe in the wilderness when we could have been attacked at any moment by lions or other predators.
The world we live in now is much different from a few thousand years ago, but those instincts that make us anxious, stressed, and fearful are still there. It’s important to acknowledge these feelings are 100% normal with everything that’s happening right now. I’m thankful that we have these natural self-defense mechanisms to keep us safe.
It’s also important to be mindful of how we deal with these strong feelings in a healthy way so here are 9 ways to deal with our anxiety, stress, and that have helped me.
#1: Let go of what you can’t control
There’s a number of aspects of this pandemic most of us have no control over like the stock marketing crashing, losing your job, or the number of ventilators at the hospitals near you.
One common expression of “It is what it is.”
There’s wisdom in accepting what we can’t control is acknowledged in a number of faiths. A great example is the Serenity Prayer:
“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.”
It IS important to focus on what we can control like social distancing and properly washing our hands during this pandemic.
#2: Breathe
When I start to feel anxious, stressed, and fearful one of the best first steps is to pause for just a second and breathe.
There are a number of great breathing techniques out there. My favorite is box breathing. It starts by drawing your breath in for 4 seconds, holding for 4 seconds, and exhaling for 4 seconds, and again holding for 4 seconds.
For me, it makes a world of difference when I do this box breathing exercise even once. If I have the time and space, I try to complete 3 rounds of box breathing to really get me back into a healthy headspace.
The hardest part is to remember to take a second to pause when your mind starts racing. It takes some practice to remember to pause, but once you do the rest of the breathing exercise comes very naturally.
#3 Get good sleep
We all know we should be getting 7-9 hours of good sleep a night. Despite what you read in the headlines, people who function well with less than 7 hours of sleep on a regular basis are the very small population.
When we don’t get good sleep it’s easier for those feelings of anxiety, stress, and fear to go from zero to overwhelming very quickly.
Now that many of us are working from home and if you have kids, your kids are doing school from home it can be hard to get the rest your body and brain need.
Here are a few quick tips.
1) Get into a routine. Go to bed every day and wake up every day at the same time. It may take your body a few days to adjust but once you have a regular routine you will fall asleep easier and wake up naturally without having to use alarm clock feeling refreshed and ready to tackle your day.
2) Turn off the screens. Turn off the TV and stop checking your phone an hour or two before bed. These devices are very good at stimulating your brain and it takes a while for your brain to settle down. I recommend reading a book before bed (not e-book).
3) Keep a notepad next to your bed. I find my mind starts racing with what I need to do tomorrow as soon as my head hits the pillow. Keep a notepad next to bed to jot these things down so you don’t have to try and remember them and you can let them go. When you wake up in the morning, you might find that most of the to-dos really were all that important.
#4 Exercise
Exercise is another great way to deal with anxiety, stress, and fear. It has a number of great benefits on both your mind and body.
In fact, studies have shown that just thinking about exercising can have beneficial effects. Which is just crazy to think about. I personally recommend actually doing a little bit of the real thing instead of just imagining your exercising.
Exercise comes in my different shapes and forms. A few of my favorites are yoga to calm my mind while I increase my flexibility, weight lifting to build muscle, going for a run to get outside my own head and going for a walk to just enjoy being outside.
You should pick the form of exercise that works well for you and where you’re at right now. For example, I have some lower back issues right now and because all of the gyms are closed, I’m not lifting weights. Instead, I’m doing yoga, walking and a little bit of running.
There’s a lot of great free videos out there right now that you can do from home. Right now, I’m really enjoying Julie Marie’s Couch to Confidence yoga series on Amazon Prime.
#5 Journaling to deal with your anxiety, stress, and fear
There’s something magical about writing out our thoughts on a piece of paper especially when that helps us deal with anxiety, stress, and fear.
I have a daily journaling habit I do every morning that takes about 5 minutes. I start asking the question, what are three things I can be thankful for today. These can be small things like delicious brats I had yesterday from my favorite local butcher shop or they can be big things like being grateful that my kids are safe and healthy.
Next, I write down three things I want to accomplish today. Sticking to just three things helps keep me from feeling overwhelmed with a bunch of tasks on my to-do list. I know that if I get these three things done, I’m guaranteed to have a great day.
Also, I write down one affirmation for myself. I used to be critical of myself and frustrated with my shortcomings. This felt very woo-woo at first, but over time it’s helped me be more patient and empathetic to myself.
Once I’ve gotten those done. I review yesterday and write down 3 good things that happened yesterday. Many times these good things come directly from my accomplishments from earlier in the day, but sometimes something unexpected happens that just amazing so I write it down here.
I finish by reflecting on one thing I could have done better yesterday. Lately, I’ve been working on removing or reducing things in my life that are no longer important to me rather than adding more to my to-do list. Because of this thought exercise, for example, I noticed I was going to a bunch of events that were draining a great deal of my time and energy. Even before COVID-19 shut everything down, I stopped going to events that I wasn’t super excited about.
Here are the questions I use for my daily journaling habit that really centers me:
- What are three things I’m grateful for today?
- What are three things I would like to accomplish today?
- What affirmation do I need today?
- What are three good things that happened yesterday?
- What is one thing I could have done better yesterday?
I do occasionally miss a day and I can definitely feel a difference.
My Favorite Journal: North Books
#6 Magnesium
Magnesium naturally relaxes your muscles, lowers blood pressure, and helps you sleep better.
The high-carb Standard American Diet causes massive depletion of magnesium in your body. For example, you need 54 milligrams of magnesium to process just 1 gram of sugar or starch. About 70% of people don’t get even the minimum recommended daily amount of magnesium.
People used to get all the magnesium they needed from untreated wells and streams. Today, magnesium is filtered out water softeners and city water systems because magnesium salts make deposits in pipes and prevents soap from lathering.
Some keto friendly foods that are rich in magnesium include dark chocolate, almonds, avocados and oily fish like sardines. However, it can be hard to get enough magnesium from food every day and you might need to supplement.
Magnesium supplements can be very confusing because there are a number of different types of magnesium. I recommend Magnesium Glycinate because it’s calming and is absorbed better by your body than other forms of Magnesium.
Everyone has a different tolerance to magnesium, but most people do well with 400 to 800 milligrams of magnesium glycinate per day.
My Favorite Magnesium Supplement: Triple Calm from Rhythm
#7 Meditation
A meditation practice can be a great way to deal with anxiety, stress, and fear.
It trains your brain to take that important pause we talking about when things start to feel overwhelming that we talked about before.
Meditation is a great way to get out of your own head and get a different perspective on the world. There’s a number of great both free and paid meditation apps available now.
I use the free version of Sam Harris’s Waking Up app. Each of the meditations takes about 10 minutes and they’re really focused on examining how you process your thoughts and creating space so you can make a conscious choice in how you respond to situations in life.
My kids really enjoy the Insight Timer app’s Dolphin and Walking in the Woods meditations before bed.
#8 Talk to a friend to deal with your anxiety, stress, and fear
To deal with anxiety, fear, and stress sometimes the best thing to do is just talk to a friend.
I’m an out-loud thinker. For me, just talking about out-loud about a problem can be incredibly helpful. I have a handful of friends and family I can call to talk out my problems. I always feel a thousand times better afterward.
One word of caution, we all have those friends that create or are a magnet for drama. Don’t put these people on your contact list when you’re dealing with a problem and need to talk it out with someone. It’s usually not beneficial for you or for them.
Also, whoever you choose to put on your list of friends you can talk out your problems with be prepared to return the favor. You should be open to actively listening to them as well.
#9 Get professional help
Sometimes we NEED a profession to help us deal with anxiety, stress, and fear. Admitting we need help and going get professional help is a brave thing to do. Many of the most successful people in the world get professional help on a regular basis, why should we be any different.
Here are some links to a number of great online resources!
Also here’s a couple of useful phone numbers
- The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 800-273-TALK (8255)
- Dail 211 to get a live person will connect you with local resources in your area
Below is a Pinterest friendly photo…so you can pin it to your keto board!
Final thought on ways to deal with anxiety, stress, and fear
Don’t try to do all of these techniques to deal with your anxiety, stress, and fear. Pick one and test it out. If it’s not working for you have a week or two try something else until you find what works for you.
Until next time, stay safe and stay healthy!
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