1. Think about the situations where you do feel good, happy, and safe.
Where do you feel your least anxious and most comfortable? In what kinds of situations?
What do they have in common?
Maybe the anxiety goes down when you’re around at least one other person. Maybe you feel best on days when you ate in the morning. Or perhaps you feel least anxious when you’ve had some quiet alone time throughout the day.
Whatever your easiest days have in common, capitalize on those things! This thought exercise should tell you where you can make changes in your life, to increase your number of happy moments.
2. Feel less overwhelmed: take one thing off your to do list.
Even if your to-do list is a mile long, you can still feel better without finishing the entire thing. Getting just one tiny thing done will give you a jolt of relief, and that may turn your day around.
Pick the tiniest, easiest item on there. Throw away all your apartment’s trash. Too much? Just throw away everything on the floor. Put your dirty clothes all in one spot. Make progress however is easiest for you, and you’ll see your anxiety lift at least a little!
3. Talk to someone. Anyone.
Call a friend. Text a family member. Or if you don’t feel comfortable sharing your sensitive thoughts with people you know, try an anonymous way to talk to people.
Online, you could try any number of peer support sites, like Basis or Supportiv – your identity stays anonymous, and you can reach out 24/7 for free. Just make sure you go somewhere that’s troll-free, so you don’t end up feeling worse.
There’s no reason or excuse to go through your anxiety alone. And in fact, feeling alone tends to make anxiety much worse. Remember there are always people out there ready to hear your story, and feeling heard makes a huge difference.