Take a cue from Nike

Take a cue from Nike
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Get past your current state and start calming anxiety by being proactive. Even if it doesn’t have the perfect outcome, at least you’re moving away from the anxiety of trying to figure out your next step. “There’s no wrong decision, as long as you do something to move out of deliberation mode,” says Dr Debra Kissen, clinical director of Light on Anxiety Treatment Center. “Stop trying to find the perfect solution and just take some movement forward, even if it’s an imperfect step forward.”

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Give yourself a reality check

Give yourself a reality check
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Remind yourself that although anxiety is unpleasant, you’re in no physical danger when your emotions are taking over. “In a moment of anxiety, especially with panic disorder, people feel like ‘I’m not going to survive this. This is not OK to feel this way,’” Dr Kissen says. “It’s not fun, but it’s not dangerous.”

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Go for gratitude

Go for gratitude
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Take a moment to appreciate your good health, loving family, or stable job. Your brain can’t experience stress and gratitude at the same time, so it’s an effective way to change your mindset, says Dr Heidi Hanna, author of Stressaholic: 5 Steps to Transform Your Relationship with Stress. “When you feel stressed or brain fog, if you can shift to a place of expressing gratitude for something in life, that immediately starts to shift into a more restorative state,” she says. “If your mind wanders, go back to feeling grateful.”

Practice mindfulness

Practice mindfulness
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Calming anxiety in this way can help you stay in the moment, rather than stressing out about all your worries and regrets. Notice your thoughts and sensations as they come, and shift them back to what’s happening in the present moment. Focusing on watching your kids or washing the dishes will keep your thoughts in a more bearable state. “It’s having the ability to redirect them—rather than getting totally caught up in rumination—and putting your attention to whatever the current moment has,” says Dr Kissen.

Give in

Give in
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When you feel overwhelmed by things you can’t control—like gridlocked traffic or your boss’s mood—calming anxiety isn’t always easy. Accept that bad things happen and give yourself up to the course of the day. “It’s the nicest thing because you’re not trying to manage anything anymore,” says Dr Kathleen Hall, founder and CEO of Mindful Living Network and The Stress Institute. “It’s like hitting the delete button.”

It will go away

It will go away
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By referring to yourself in the second person, it’s like you’re calling in a team of family members, mentors, and other loved ones to remind you that you’re not alone and that calming anxiety is possible. “When you say ‘I can do it,’ it stresses you out a little bit because you’re alone,” Dr Hall says. “Second-person works because you’re calling yourself to action.”

Focus on “enough”

Focus on “enough”
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Say the first part while taking in a big gulp of air, and follow with the second one as you exhale. The stress response often starts when people feel like they don’t have the resources to deal with the demands being put on them, says Dr Hanna. “People are constantly told they’re not enough. We need to buy more or do more to be enough, to have enough,” she says. “It’s letting go and relaxing in the moment, saying ‘I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be in this moment.’”

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Recognise your panic

Recognise your panic
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By definition, anxiety means you’re feeling overwhelmed by a stressor, even when you’re in no immediate danger. “It’s like being in a building with a fire alarm going off, but there’s no fire,” says Dr Kissen. Calm yourself down by recognising that there’s no need to panic.

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Fact-check yourself

Fact-check yourself
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Say you’re walking up to a party and don’t think you can handle a crowd, or are about to make a speech when you’re prone to stage fright. Empower yourself with a reminder that your fears don’t define you. “If you explore your history, chances are you had that feeling a million times, and that situation ended up being OK,” says Dr Kissen.

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Go for positivity

Go for positivity
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Sub out “loving” for any word that you feel describes you when you’re being your best self. Now close your eyes and think about how it feels when you’re embodying that trait, says Dr Hanna. Use those values and feelings to guide you before you start your day so that you can react in a way you’re proud of. “We get so focused on needing to do stuff all the time that we forget how we want to be,” says Dr Hanna. If you’re having trouble thinking of a word, consider the compliments you’d like to hear from others. That mindset will help you figure out what matters most to you, she says.

Check out these ways to treat anxiety without medication.

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