How I’m addressing my anxiety

Lately, I’ve been dealing with another bout of anxiety. I’ve shared several times before, the spiritual warfare and the way my mind is attacked around our new collection’s launch time is like clockwork! 

The enemy is relentless and the idea of more people praying threatens his plan, so I get why these times are the way they are. 

Today, I wanted to share with you how I am addressing my anxiety right now. I had actually planned for this post to be some helpful Scripture for anxiety, but seeing as how I am in the thick of it, I thought I’d share some “real time” advice beyond verses that I’m incorporating into my life right now. 

1. Scripture

Ok so this is still the number one thing. The more my mind is flooded with screens or even my own thoughts, the more anxious I become. I fished a spiral index card thing out of my bedside table that has all sorts of verses written on them from at least 6 years ago. I’ve been taking this stack of verses everywhere. I slept with it next to my pillow a few nights ago so I could fall asleep looking at Scripture and wake up to it too. Scripture is full of verses prompting us to meditate on what is true. And when anxiety roars, we need to know which way is up. At the end of this post, I’ll share all the verses I am adding to a new index card set. I, of course, wanted it to be visually comforting so I’m going with these pastel sets. 

2. Prayer

When anxiety is high, one of my best tips is to get other people to pray with you and for you. It can be hard when your mind is reeling from anxiety to stop and put together cohesive words that express your heart. And I’ll be totally honest, I’m tired of asking people to pray for me. I feel bad to ask so much and I feel bad that it’s always about the same stuff. Like aren’t they bored of hearing this? Or are they wondering why I’m not experiencing victory in this? I have to remind myself that God uses intercessory prayer for a reason. We are called to invite people in because God does something for the person praying too. We were created for community and that means the hard moments too. 

3. CBD Oil

I think it’s important to not only address our anxiety in spiritual ways but physical ways too. After all, God made us mind, body and soul. Everything is connected. CBD oil has been such a help and I notice a very obvious difference between when I stop taking it for a while and when I start up. Sometimes, it’s as quick as seeing a difference in my anxiety after one dose. I’m obviously not a doctor so do your research and talk to your doc before taking. 

4. Nutrition

Cut the caffeine. I have done this for the most part for a while but still have my fair share of dark chocolate. Even green tea gives me the jitters!! I know this is a scary one to try, but my guess is, if the anxiety is bad enough, you’ll be willing to try this! 

5. Have labs done

Anxiety can be a symptom of lots of different health conditions or deficiencies. This could be the signal that something is off and addressing the root cause could lift some of the anxiety. 

6. Sunshine

I’ve read multiple health experts recommend going outside within the first 30 minutes of sunrise and within the last 30 minutes. I have found that when I’m consistent with it, it has helped me to have a more calm heart. Also, getting enough daily sunshine helps with our moods so if you’re like me and a week of rain ratchets up your melancholy or depression, it usually goes hand in hand with anxiety. 

7. Sauna

This has been one of my go-to routines for the last year. I started it to help with detoxing from mold but have noticed that when I go consistently, it greatly helps my mood and calms my anxiety! 

8. Workouts

I feel like now I’m just naming a bunch of basic things we know are good for us, but if you’re spiraling with anxiety, it might be hard to remember what to do. So here’s just a good first step. Move your body. Go for a walk at sunrise. Get some endorphins flowing and let those jittery and anxious nerves have a place to put that energy. 

9. Laughter

It might sound odd but I’m intentionally making a point to laugh more. Like the girls say anything remotely funny and I’ll get myself caught up in a laughing fit for 5 minutes. They think it’s hilarious and keep it going. There are tons of benefits to more laughter and it’s amazing when I was looking at my day how rarely a big belly laugh was happening. 

10. Serving

Introspection feels like a really good thing to do when we’re worried. Maybe we can think this problem away. We can google all the symptoms and figure out the remedy. We can search all the job sites. We can ask all the probing questions for why we feel the way we do but the truth is, many times, we just need to get out of our own space and serve someone else. The most joyful times in my life (the ones where anxiety doesn’t have a leg to stand on) have been when I was serving someone else. It doesn’t need to be some enormous commitment, just do something. Bake something for a neighbor. Take your friend’s baby for an hour so they can sleep or clean or just read a book. Text a few friends and ask what you can pray for them and really do it. Find a local charity to donate some items to. Living a self-centered life will lead to an anxious and miserable life. 

11. Worship

Because anxiety can absolutely be one of the enemy’s tactics, cranking up the worship music is my way of getting loud with Satan. It’s my way of saying, what you mean for evil, God will use for good. You want me to crumble, but I’m just gonna praise God instead. It goes against our every instinct as we feel overcome with worry but it is sooo powerful! My favorite album is Hymn of Heaven by Phil Wickham. 

12. Distract yourself 

This one doesn’t get high marks normally because it seems like it’s avoiding the problem. But for a chronic worrier, there isn’t necessarily something to solve. We simply need to get in another head space so we can think more rationally. For me, the other day it looked like going to the escape room with my family. It was already planned to celebrate our family’s birthdays (me, my sister, brother and mom all have birthdays within 5 days of each other) but it was the best hour ever!! Another great option may be getting a new hobby. 

13. Reduce screen time

Ok this is last because I am finally admitting that it will help me right now. I have wanted to keep it around with the assumption that it’s a great distraction to scroll, but the truth is scrolling has never left me more at peace. So I’m cutting out a lot of screen time right now!

There you have it! The 13 things I’m doing to address my anxiety. Leave a comment and share what things have helped you in the past!!