Hi everyone,

Today's population struggles quite a lot with stress, depression and anxiety. Not everyone realizes, or would like to talk about it, but it is a very important thing to talk about. This post is about how I deal with anxiety, and little tips and tricks I use to make it a bit easier to manage!

Tip 1:

Music

There is a reason why music is always added in the background of movies, and at events; it sets a vibe. So if you are feeling awful and feel like everything in the world is bad, maybe putting on a playlist with some songs that you like or make you feel happy can help. My favourite people to listen to when I'm not feeling happy are The White Stripes, Cage the Elephant and The Gorillaz; and when I'm stressed I listen to music with a very chilled vibe, like Lana del Rey and The Neighbourhood.

So find something that works for you. It might not make a huge difference but every bit of help counts!

Tip 2:

Different Scents

This works almost the same as the music does, and it sounds so simple, but for some people (me included) it really works. If you have something that you associate good thoughts or memories with, it can really help to boost your mood. Whether it's perfume, a scented candle, incense, or even other things like opening a window and smelling the fresh air or baking cookies and having that smell in the house.
Personally, I have been using a Lush gift set I got for Christmas.. and can we just take a side note to talk about my undying love for Lush, oh my word. Where I am from, the closest Lush store is 4 hours away , and I have always seen it on youtube and on TV but have never been able to try it, but my family came to visit from overseas and they brought some and BOY IT IS MY LIFE NOW! What's even better is that it's from their "sleepy" collection, so it has a lot of very calming elements already, so f you don't have something in particular that you already like, try to go for something similar with calming and happy notes.

Since I've been using it when I start to feel anxious, I have noticed the attacks haven't been as bad. It's purely psychological, but there is nothing wrong with that. If it works it works.

The gift set I got.

Tip 3:

Confide in Someone

I can't emphasize how much this helps. If you keep everything to yourself, it can start to feel like the world is crashing in on you. Now I'm not saying that you have to pour your heart out, and whoever it is doesn't even have to give you any advice. Just the fact of knowing that someone in this world knows that you aren't okay at that moment can really bring a lot of comfort to you.

Animals

This falls under the same bracket, because animals help so much for making you feel less alone. The amount of times that I have been feeling like the world is crashing in, and had my cat come in and save the day with a little cuddle and some purrs, is unbelievable.

And if you don't have anyone to talk to, you can always talk to them. They may not understand your words, but at least you are vocalizing what you are feeling, and that is very therapeutic.

My baby Peach, Chilling with me while I write this. He makes life so much better!

Tip 4:

Have Something to Eat or Drink

Now I'm not saying that this should be your sole go-to option, because comfort eating can be a huge problem, but often times having a small snack or a cup of tea can really help. Any warm drink is comforting already, because it's human nature to feel safe and comforted when drinking something warm(Think of a baby's reaction when it is drinking milk) and often times the symptoms of low blood sugar can mimic those of an anxiety attack, you might not even realize that your sugar is low, so having something small to eat could help a lot.

Here is my favourite coffee cup, it's like a double positive because not only can I make tea to feel better, but I love the cup so it makes me happy too!

Tip 5:

Exercise

Not only can a good exercise session get the blood pumping in the body and improve your mood, it also provides a good distraction. I can't really obsesses about my problems when I'm trying to hold plank position for 5 minutes.

A distraction is not the solution, but it can help to calm you down enough to get you to a point where you can think about the issue rationally, and maybe resolve it.

It will also make you feel better to know that you did something worthwhile instead of lying in bed and crying. At least you were working on those abs while crying!

Tip 6:

Working on a Hobby

This also works similar to the point on exercising. If you can escape into a book or movie for a while until you have calmed down enough to deal with the problem, that can help a lot.If you are doing something that you love, not only will it distract you for a while, but it will hopefully improve your mood a bit!

This is my book shelf, with all of my favourite books to help escape.

And there you have it! Hopefully some of these helped. The goal is to find things that work for you, and tryíng to use those to cope with the problem.

I hope you enjoyed this article, and it hopefully helps someone out there!

Have an awesome day further.