What is Anxiety and What Can I do About it?

By Hollie Frazier
Why am I feeling so nervous and scared? This can be anxiety. Physical signs of anxiety can be felt as heart palpitations, loss of energy, sweating, extreme thirst, and loss of focus. When a person has physical symptoms, we work on exercise, diet, and other things, but for mental issues, we must also think about multiple stressors.
Having anxiety is not as obvious to others as it is to you. The way I help calm my anxiety is to learn coping skills I can do anywhere. Here are some skills that might help you, too:

1. Learn to breathe: in through the nose, out through the mouth, counting out 6 breaths.
2. Listen to a calming app on your phone, to help with focus.
3. Take a break to clear your head; a walk can be helpful.
4. Wash your hands, then put a wet paper towel on the back of your neck.
5. Doodle on a piece of paper to allow receptive thoughts to come.
6. Journal about your feelings so you can release the anxious thoughts.
7. Do stretches, such as yoga, to release tension.

These skills can be done at home or the office. You can tailor them to fit your schedule, your surroundings, and your levels of anxiety. Learn the skills that work best for you. Try aromatherapy, meditation, massages, exercise, or reaching out to health care practitioners. Whatever you choose, don’t think that you only have a few choices. There are many techniques that can be effective. Research and try them until you find what works the best for you. Another valuable resource to check out is an article from TherapyRoute, Anxiety Squared, to read more on anxiety and COVID-19. Remember, too, that all of these techniques can be enhanced by eating an anti-inflammatory diet.​

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