We tend to be prisoners of our thoughts, which is why we feel helpless in the face of our anxieties. So what can you do to manage your anxieties with confidence and serenity? Here are 6 tips to help you calm down.

1 – Practice deep breathing to manage anxiety

When I feel anxious, I stop for a moment.

In fact, I stop what I’m doing.

If I’m at home, I go into the kitchen to make myself a cup of tea or an infusion, and while the water is heating up, I go to the window and breathe.

I take deep breaths. I count them: 1, 2, 3…

And, as I inhale and exhale, I recite these two soothing phrases: “I inhale calm. I breathe out what weighs me down”.

This ritual allows me to stop thinking, and thus to silence my anxieties.

Because we always tend to listen to our anxieties without realizing that we’re rehashing them.

In fact, what’s worrying you right now is the same worry you had yesterday, the day before and even further back.

Yes, we’re just rehashing our anxieties.

That’s why, to manage your anxiety, you have to stop listening to your thoughts and find a way to stop thinking.

This breathing exercise helps me enormously, and I hope it will do the same for you.

And if I’m not at home, it’s only the preparation of the tea or infusion that differs. Indeed, if I’m outside, I take deep breaths and mentally recite the two soothing phrases. And if I’m at someone’s house, I go into the bathroom and do the same thing.

2 – Writing to manage anxiety

Writing is also a powerful exercise in managing anxiety.

In fact, writing externalizes our anxieties and, above all, reduces our fear of them.

In fact, we often tend to exaggerate our anxieties, because we can’t put them into precise words. They are thoughts that swirl around in our heads, accompanied by physiological changes: breathing becomes more difficult, shoulders ache, sometimes a headache too.

That’s why I like to write when I’m feeling an anxiety or several anxieties.

I open my notebook and jot down everything that comes into my head: “How do I feel? What’s weighing on me so much? Why?”

I write it all down. Unashamedly. Unfiltered.

Then, when I feel ready, I ask myself this question: “What if everything goes well?”

And, I go back over every single thing I’ve written with that question. It helps me to put things into perspective, to be positive and to keep hope alive.

That’s why I wholeheartedly advise you to do this exercise.

3 – Reading to manage your anxieties

Reading is the exercise that puts everything on pause, and is excellent for managing anxiety.

We dive into our reading and forget everything.

A study has shown that 6 minutes of reading can reduce stress by 60%, making reading the best anti-stress exercise, because reading allows you to practice deep breathing without even realizing it.

What’s more, we don’t stop thinking because we’re concentrating on the words.

That’s why books are my magic remedy.

So, I wouldn’t recommend this when you’re in the middle of an anxiety attack, but reading books on anxiety and stress not only allows you to benefit from the beneficial effects of reading, but also to better understand and manage your anxieties.

In fact, when you’re in the middle of an anxiety attack, read light, positive novels.

4 – Talking about it and knowing how to be positive

Talking is also a good way of dealing with anxiety, even if it’s not always my favorite.

The people around us aren’t always receptive, and what’s more, as I said earlier, our anxieties go round and round. All we do is dwell on them.

In other words, when we go to see a friend or our partner to talk about our anxiety, we may hear a “You’ve already told me, move on. You’re rambling!”

And that’s not always pleasant to hear when you’re suffering from anxiety.

That’s why it’s best to talk about your anxieties at the right time and to the right person.

What’s more, if we put ourselves in the other person’s shoes, it’s true that listening to someone ramble is never pleasant. Add to that the other person’s concern for you and their feeling of helplessness at not knowing how to help you. That’s a lot for one person.

So, when I’m not sure who to talk to about my anxieties, I talk to myself. Yes, it sounds very strange written like that (laughs).

But it’s true.

Most of the time, I go for a walk, and while I’m walking, I check up on myself as a friend would: “How am I feeling? What’s weighing me down?”

And, I always add this question: “Is there anything I feel like celebrating?”

Because, all too often, our anxieties trap us in negativity and we forget about all the beautiful things that are present in our lives.

So let’s think positive.

5 – Establish habits and take action

So, having the tools to manage your anxieties is great, but having good daily habits to stop suffering from them is even better.

In fact, we all too often forget that being anxious is not inevitable, and that we can put in place habits to soothe, reassure and positivize ourselves on a daily basis.

Because anxiety is most often born of bad habits.

So, what are the habits that help us feel less anxious day after day?

They’re the same exercises we’ve just seen, but done every day!

Choose one of the exercises you enjoy most: deep breathing, writing, reading or talking to a friend, and do it every day, without exception.

I’d also like to remind you of the importance of taking action. Because it’s normal to be anxious about everything, it’s normal because that’s the role of our mind: to prepare us for the worst.

But don’t stay in your head.

Take action.

In fact, taking action is what helps me most day after day to silence my anxieties, because calming them, managing them, is all very well, but at some point we have to face them, overcome them to silence them.

In other words, when you’re afraid of doing something, take a little action. Take action and don’t stay trapped in your head and your fears.

6 – Training for happiness

When I decided to learn how to be happy, I realized one essential thing as a big worrier and big stresser, and that is that I’ll always be anxious and stressed, but that I could learn to live with it.

Better still, I could create a daily routine in which I would have habits that would help me to calm down and manage my anxieties when necessary.

That’s why, if you’re an anxious person, don’t stay alone with your anxieties. It doesn’t have to be that way. In fact, you can learn to understand and manage them better. And you can create a calmer, more peaceful everyday life for yourself.

If I did it, you can do it. And I’ll be happy to accompany you on your way.

Find out more:

I invite you to read these 2 complementary articles:

Discover How to treat anxiety: 6 easy-to-follow tips
Discover Slowing down in everyday life: 8 tips for a more serene life

I recommend this inspiring book:

The Mindful Way Through Anxiety: Break Free from Chronic Worry and Reclaim Your Life by Susan M. Orsillo and Lizabeth Roemer

The author offers a mindfulness-based approach to anxiety management. The book provides practical strategies and exercises based on the principles of mindfulness to help individuals free themselves from chronic worry. By integrating mindfulness into daily life, you can learn to manage anxiety more skillfully, foster a sense of calm and regain control of your life. The authors guide you on a transformative journey, providing tools that encourage a mindful approach to managing anxiety and promoting overall well-being.

Rather than avoiding anxiety-provoking situations or struggling to overcome them, this book attempts to find a “third way” through anxiety by equipping you with the skills you need to live with the intense discomfort anxiety can produce.
I highly recommend it to anyone suffering from anxiety or a lack of mindfulness that impacts on their work, relationships or quality of life.

Thank you very much for reading this article.

If you liked it, let me know in the comments.

Take care of yourself