So I am still going through it at the moment and it is still quite hard but I think I am slowly coming through the other end. Anyway, I just wanted to talk about some of the things I do to try and calm my health anxiety down when it becomes quite bad, some of these techniques I did learn from going to cognitive behavioral therapy (as I have done that a number of years ago after another bad period of health anxiety) while others are just things that help me and don’t particular come from anywhere or may be a specific special anxiety-based item.
So let’s get to…
Number 1 – Breathing Exercises
One of the most well-known tactics is to do some deep breathing exercises, such as slowly breathing in through your nose and then slowly out through your mouth, you can either do it simply like that or you can breath in, hold it for a few seconds and then breathe out, and then just repeat it until you start to feel calmer.
I have found this is one that often helps me on a number of occassions when I begin to become really panicked and need to quickly calm myself down. Just make sure to do it slowly and not too fast, otherwise if you do it too fast you can make yourself feel lightheaded or even out of breath and then that can make your anxiety even worse.
Number 2 – Positive affirmations/reassurance talking
In this one you just say positive things to yourself or you tell yourself all of the reasons of why you don’t have something you’re scared of having, such as how rare it is, your own age, how your actually quite healthy and how you don’t have all the symptoms of what you have or even understanding that whatever you think you have actually isn’t progressing in the way it actually would – it’s just anxiety.
Some also find that making a list of reasons why you may have it versus reasons why you don’t have it can also help and this is often an exercise that a CBT therapist may also give you as well – in the vast majority of cases you’ll see that the list of why you probably don’t have what you’re scared of is much larger than the list of why you think you do. At the same time though this list exercise may not help everyone, as it can involve focusing more on the thing you’re scared of, which can have the opposite effect and make your anxiety worse.
Number 3 – Items that distract and calm
You could also try buying something that helps you calm down, these items can be anything, such as a normal object or even an object or item that is specialized to help calm down anxiety.
This is different for everyone and comes down to personal preference, for me I have purchased a weighted blanket which can help calm me down and foam rollers also seem to help me as well as I can fiddle around with them or use them to massage me. You may also find that certain smells may help as well, I myself have got some lavender essential oils to help calm myself, some of these things can also help you sleep as well if anxiety is making that a challenge.
If you’re having trouble sleeping, things such as an eye mask and ear plugs can also help. It’s all about trial and error and seeing what works best for you out of the many items that exist out there for you to try.
Number 4 – Activities that Distract
You can also do stuff as well to distract you, which may be hard at first as you may not want to focus or anything or find it very hard to focus on anything due to the anxiety, but if you really try and get into something it can help.
For me I have been watching livestreams on Youtube and Twitch TV of people playing games or even reading books – there is one channel I am currently watching where someone is reading the Harry Potter books. Also just watching general videos or playing games yourself can help as well or just getting into one of your hobbies or distracting yourself with work that needs to be done – letting work pile up due to anxiety can make your anxiety even worse and can also cause depression.
As well as that you could go out somewhere and do something either by yourself or with family and friends, which can all help to be great distractions for the time and can really make you realize that you appear to be fine, these activities could be a bit of outdoor sports, maybe some swimming or running or dog walking. Recently in my area there is a fun fair with a lot of rides and I went there on the previous Friday which helped a lot.
Number 5 – Talk to a close family member or friend + therapy
Suffering alone with your health anxiety is incredibly tough. It can be very beneficial to talk about your worries and anxieties, whatever they may be, to your closest friends and family members who can help calm you down and/or comfort you and so you can then at least feel like you aren’t going crazy or mad. It might seem little at the time, but having someone who you can talk to about it can really, really help.
If your anxiety is really, really effecting you to the point where it is severely impacting on your normal life then going to see a therapist such as a cognitive behavioral therapist is often a very good idea as they can help talk to you about it and give you exercises to help deal with it. I know in places like the United States this can be difficult as it will often cost money. In places like the United Kingdom where there is free national healthcare, there are often systems in place that offer free therapy when you are reffered by your GP. Another problem is also that the waiting list for therapy can be very long (many months) so you may want to try and get into it as soon as possible.
Number 6 – Exercise and Healthy Eating
Healthy eating and exercise are very beneficial to the body and also work to make people feel not only physically better but also emotionally better as well, it’s one of those all-rounders that are very important. Many with bad anxiety may isolate themselves from exercise and may stop eating as they just don’t feel up to it or hungry due to the anxiety.
This has the effect of only making you feel worse which in turn makes your anxiety worse. Not eating enough can also bring up symptoms that worry you, such as lack of energy. It is very important to try and continue eating your usual meals per day and that you are eating a good balanced diet, but also make sure to treat yourself from time to time as well. And of course exercise is always important, try 30-minutes of any exercise in a day and see how you feel, of course don’t over do it, especially if you’re not used to exercising on the regular, build it up more slowly, so perhaps start with 30-minutes of exercises three days a week and go from there, make sure to have rest days and days where you exercises different areas from other areas you did last time.
Number 7 – Doctor Reassurance
Sometimes if you are really worried it may be an idea just to check in with your GP or usual doctor for a check-up, for many this can give the reassurance that you are fine and after it all they may even be able to give you some tips or refer you to somewhere to help deal with any anxiety if you choose to disclose this after the check-up. It just important not to make it into a habit – such as seeing your doctor for any little bit of anxiety or something that feels off, this can quickly lead to your doctor viewing you are a hyperchondriact and that does not help anything.
Check-Ups from time to time though are perfectly fine.
Thank you for reading and I really hope this helped some of you. I also hope I start feeling good enough soon to start doing blogposts to a normal degree again and following the normal schedule.