15 ways to make your Anxiety feel a little smaller.

This is a post unlike anything I've done before and it is a little scary to be posting but I know a lot of people could be in the same situation as me so I figured why not?

I came up with fifteen ways to make your anxiety seem a little smaller, I hope you enjoy!

1. Make a to-do list When you start to stress over the amount of work or things in a day you have to complete. Try making a to-do list. Don't put things like 'clean my room.' Break it down into smaller task to make it seem not as daunting. This also gets everything out of your head and onto paper. The satisfaction of crossing off a job when is done makes you feel a whole lot better. 2. Go for a walk or run When your feeling anxious and you have too many thoughts racing around your head. try going for a walk or run. Being alone on a walk enables you to be in the fresh air and clear your head. 3. Tidy up Okay.... I admit this is a strange one but honestly, tidying your room or cleaning the house can be very therapeutic. It has actually been proven to reduce your stress and anxiety! 4. Pet an animal Petting an animal such as a pet can reduce stress and anxiety levels due to the body's release of Oxytocin, a hormone linked to emotional bonding. 5. Remind yourself that you're safe. When you're starting to feel anxious, remind yourself that you're safe. This can be one of the hardest things to do with all the negative thoughts running around in your head. Keep telling yourself, 'I'm safe, nothing bad is going to happen.' 6. Refocus your attention When your anxious and number five just isn't working or your about to have a panic attack, try and stop and refocus your attention. In order to do this there is a small game you can play. Wherever you are stop, look around you. Name five things you can see, four things you can touch, three things you can hear, two things you can smell and one thing you can taste. This can help when you feel like you have lost all control of your surroundings. 7. Acknowledge your feelings When you're feeling anxious, acknowledging this feeling before things start to escalate makes you understand what is happening and can fetch you back to reality. 8. Focus on your breathing When anxiety creeps up on you out of nowhere, try and focus on your breathing. Breath in for four and out for four. Just repeat this until you feel it is right. 9. Solve a puzzle Anything that's out of order, I like to solve. Whether that's colouring, jigsaws, crosswords, sudoku's or even a sneaky game on my phone- they're a really good stress relief. Putting things where they belong helps to remind myself, I'm not completely out of control and can solve it.

10. Be kind to yourself Please be kind to yourself. It's so easy to start to blame yourself for the way you're feeling but the truth is your emotions are valid are you are certainly not to blame for feeling them. You're amazing and brave and you will get through this! 11. Use apps I highly recommend using apps to help with your anxiety. I personally use an app called 'Calm' which is more of a relaxation app. It has a variety of sounds which can help you meditate and relax. There are also apps that can help you track your anxiety levels, this can be good to pin point your triggers and just to generally keep and eye on everything, one which is called 'Self-help Anxiety Management' or 'SAM' for short. 12. Doodle or Read When you're feeling anxious try doodling in a small notebook or read a book. It allows you to focus on something other than your worries. Carry a notebook in your bag or even a small colouring book. For me I tend to bite my nails or the skin around my nails but this allows me to keep my hands busy and reduces my anxiety for the most part. 13. Safe place I've had a therapist help me to create this 'safe place' but this is basically a place you think of, real or imaginary, where you felt safe and happy. Once you have this place set up, when you get overwhelmed, you can mentally place yourself in the safe place. 14. Listen to music You know the phrase, 'Music is my therapy'? Well this is so true! Whenever I feel stressed or anxious, I listen to music. I can relax and breathe and shut the world off and focus on the music. I have a specific playlist on my iPod which I use for these kind of times. 15. Call or speak to someone This depends on you as a person I feel, some people like to call and friend or speak to someone and this is probably the best way rather than bottling things up, but other like to just be alone and find it difficult, which is what I am like. A select few people know about my Anxiety and I tend to try my best to talk to them, so they can help calm me in the situation I'm in.