People Share Their Best Anxiety Coping Strategies

According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), in the United States, 19.1% of adults deal with an anxiety disorder annually, while 31.1% of adults experience anxiety at some point in their lives.

Women are more likely to experience anxiety than men.

Symptoms of anxiety often begin in childhood or adolescence. Most people develop anxiety before age 21, but the percentage of adults with anxiety decreases with age.

With nearly one-third of people dealing with anxiety, learning coping skills can be beneficial.

Reddit user georgehonda asked:

"What methods do you have for coping with anxiety?"

Beta Blockers

"Seriously, beta blockers can be a huge help for anxiety-inducing situations. Intimidating social events, public speaking etc..."

"They simply suppress the adrenaline surge of an overactive fight-or-flight response. No more flushes and flop sweat."

~ oodlum

Thought Defusion

"Many people here have given great lifestyle advice like exercise and meditation and journaling, so I want to jump in with an 'in the moment' practice that helps me."

"It's based on the adage that 'you are not your thoughts', which basically means that even if you think something, it doesn't define you. It's not YOU, it's just a thought that's crossing through your brain."

"You can choose to pick that thought up and hold it, or you can stand back and watch it pass by and let the next thought come."

"So what I've done is sort of imagine my thoughts as being in little boxes on a conveyor belt. As they come, I pick them up and open them and see what's inside."

"And if it's an anxiety thought, I imagine myself just closing the box and putting it back on the belt and saying 'thanks but I'll wait for the next one' and letting it travel away."

"It sounds silly and trite but it's actually helped me a surprising amount to deal with acute spikes."

~ tsaihi

Cool Down

"When I get acute anxiety attacks, I start feeling hot, stressed and can't focus on anything else."

"My solution has become stripping down to my underwear, laying somewhere cool and listening to Enya."

"Sounds weird but it works for me."

~ DinnerMilk

Get Out

"Going out to get something I need helps me a lot when I am depressed. I tend not to leave the house, and not leaving the house makes me feel worse. But even just getting up and going to the grocery store or gas station helps me a lot."

"Once I was feeling awful. I was super low. I was stuck at home due to not being able to taste anything (never tested positive for covid, no other symptoms, it was weird). But I had to quarantine anyways. My boyfriend wanted McDonald’s, asked if I wanted to go. I wasn’t hungry, but I still went."

"We did the drive thru, so I didn’t even have to get out of the car. But the act of going outside for a few seconds, getting in the car, and going somewhere else made me feel a ton better."

"I like doing the grocery store when I am depressed because it gets me out of the house, I do something I need to do, I have food at home to eat, and I feel a bit better."

~ accidentalscientist_

Medication

"Many people suggested meds and therapy. I'm a huge supporter of mental health meds and destroying the f*cking stigma linked with taking them."

"I'll be OK. And if you're going through sh*t too, you'll be OK, too. Sometimes we get bombarded and just need to take shelter for a bit for the danger to pass."

~ ckellingc

"Been on Zoloft and it’a really helped."

~ JustChillFFS

One Step Ahead

"I'll go out and get groceries/something I've been meaning to get for my place. Not like impulse buying, but like something I NEED that I've just been putting off."

"Gets me doing something productive, I'm outside, and then I feel 'one step ahead' of where I was when I was feeling like a**."

"Playing music, gym, or just any hobby really."

~ whiskey_agogo

Worst Case Scenario

"I imagine the worst case scenario. What if my deepest worry actually materialized‽‽"

"I then figure out what I would do IF that actually happened."

"Once I realize that, even though it's not something I wish to go through, that there is a path out of it, I feel calmer and in more control. I think back to other times I've felt this way, and the eventual outcome wasn't as difficult to deal with as I had imagined."

"For me, it's the loss of control and the unknown that causes my mental and emotional discomfort.

Once I have an idea of a possible plan forward, it doesn't feel so scary. Hope this is of some help to you."

~ OoLaLana

Mantras

"One mantra I have for myself is, 'I've done more with less'."

"It's usually true."

"Another is taking the time to visualize a positive outcome."

~ jseego

Even If

"My therapist always tells me to reword 'what if' to 'even if'."

"Meaning even IF that thing happens, I will be just fine."

~ Less-Might9855

Take The Thought To Court

"Another tip I got with anxiety is a technique called 'take the thought to court'."

"If you're worrying about everyone hating you for example (a pretty common one), take that thought to court and write down the evidence for the case and against it."

"For example, 'everyone hates me your honor'."

"The evidence for this is I sometimes say stupid things or I don't text back."

"The evidence against this says 'they never said they hate me, they invite me to things and I enjoy myself when I'm there'."

"So in conclusion they don't hate me."

~ RonnyReddit00

Breathe

"When I'm sitting in the moment of anxiety, I do this:"

"I breathe. A deep, long inhale; a comfortable, collapsing exhale.

I focus on my breathing and my working lungs and not on whatever problem has triggered my anxiety.

"Once I feel calmer, I look at the problem that's causing the anxiety."

~ OoLaLana

Treadmill

"I bought a $200 Amazon treadmill and like to alternate between running and speed walking on it at night while watching whatever my fiancé and I are binge watching at the moment, because I get squirrely and try to read a book, watch tv, and play on my phone at the same time and end up driving myself crazy otherwise."

"Game changer."

"I feel like I sleep better, feel better, and I don’t snack as much, because I’m occupied. I usually do my biggest snacking at night."

~ Laziness_supreme

Cognitive Restructuring

"Cognitive restructuring—my favorite being looking for evidence of my worries/thoughts being unlikely, incoherent or incorrect."

~ ItsDefinitely_NotMe

"I do this too. For me, it is more about my reaction to a situation."

"For instance, I dropped a cake I just made. Being upset is totally valid. Is the intensity of that emotion justified?"

"I freeze and decide what level of upset makes sense. A hearty 'f*ck' is justified, screaming and throwing cake at the walls is not. Hell, if the rest of the day was super sh*tty, crying might even be OK."

"It's taken years of practice, but I feel like most of my reactions are more reasonable now."

"Apparently, I look rather comical when I do this sometimes, because depending on what it is, I actually freeze. I stared at that cake for a hot minute before I reacted."

~ BlytheTruth

Journaling

"Journaling, but I never read them back."

"First I did it in a notebook, but now I do it in a notes app on my laptop and lock the notes so it feel secure."

"I like doing it on the computer cos I'm quicker at typing, so I just unload my thoughts and don't worry about grammar or caps and just let it fly."

"If it's about someone, f*ck it, I'll write it. If it's deep and dark, I write it."

~ RonnyReddit00

"I've switched to journaling on my phone (notes app) so no one can come across it. I even lock the notes so it’s harder for me to access it if I don’t want to see it."

"There’s always the delete button, too. Sometimes it’s good to just let it out, even if you don’t want to revisit it later.

"But I usually keep mine just in case I do."

~ LunarVolcano

Meditation And Exercise

"Meditation and physical activity."

"I'm more active and into these activities and somehow I'm doing great and feeling good about what I've accomplished and I am proud."

~ CaptivatingSirenGrac

How do you deal with anxiety?