anxietyfreesuggestions

[anxietyfreesuggestions]

Why "doing something relaxing” does not help your anxiety

A lot of the time when people give advice intended to relieve anxiety, they suggest doing “relaxing” things like drawing, painting, knitting, taking a bubble bath, coloring in one of those zen coloring books, or watching glitter settle to the bottom of a jar.

This advice is always well-intentioned, and I’m not here to diss people who either give it or who benefit from it. But it has never, ever done shit for me, and this is because it goes about resolving anxiety in the completely wrong way.  

THE WORST THING YOU CAN DO when suffering from anxiety is to do a “relaxing” thing that just enables your mind to dwell and obsess more on the thing that’s bothering you. You need to ESCAPE from the dwelling and the obsession in order to experience relief.

You can drive to a quiet farm, drive to the beach, drive to a park, or anywhere else, but as someone who has tried it all many, many times, trust me–it’s a waste of gas. You will just end up still sad and stressed, only with sand on your butt. You can’t physically escape your sadness. Your sadness is inside of you. To escape, you need to give your brain something to play with for a while until you can approach the issue with a healthier frame of mind. 

People who have anxiety do not need more time to contemplate, because we will use it to contemplate how much we suck.

In fact, you could say that’s what anxiety is–hyper-contemplating. When we let our minds run free, they run straight into the thorn bushes. Our minds are already running, and they need to be controlled. They need to be given something to do, or they’ll destroy everything, just like an overactive husky dog ripping up all the furniture. 

Therefore, I present to you: 

THINGS YOU SHOULD NOT DO WHEN ANXIOUS

–Go on a walk

–Watch a sunset, watch fish in an aquarium, watch glitter, etc.

–Go anywhere where the main activity is sitting and watching

–Draw, color, do anything that occupies the hands and not the mind

–Do yoga, jog, go fishing, or anything that lets you mentally drift 

–Do literally ANYTHING that gives you great amounts of mental space to obsess and dwell on things.

THINGS YOU SHOULD DO WHEN ANXIOUS:

–Do a crossword puzzle, Sudoku, or any other mind teaser game. Crosswords are the best.

–Write something. It doesn’t have to be a masterpiece. Write the Top 10 Best Restaurants in My City. Rank celebrities according to Best Smile. Write some dumb Legolas fanfiction and rip it up when you’re done. It’s not for publication, it’s a relief exercise that only you will see. 

–Read something, watch TV, or watch a movie–as long as it’s engrossing. Don’t watch anything which you can run as background noise (like, off the top of my head, Say Yes to The Dress.) As weird as it seems, American Horror Story actually helps me a lot, because it sucks me in. 

–Masturbate. Yes, I’m serious. Your mind has to concentrate on the mini-movie it’s running. It can’t run Sexy Titillating Things and All The Things That are Bothering Me at the same time. (…I hope. If it can, then…ignore this one.) 

–Do math problems—literally, google “algebra problems worksheet” and solve them. If you haven’t done math since 7th grade this will really help you. I don’t mean with math, I mean with the anxiety. 

–Play a game or a sport with someone that requires great mental concentration. Working with 5 people to get a ball over a net is a challenge which will require your brain to turn off the Sadness Channel. 

–Play a video game, as long as it’s not something like candy crush or Tetris that’s mindless. 

THINGS YOU SHOULD DO DURING PANIC ATTACKS ESPECIALLY:

–List the capitals of all the U.S. states

–List the capitals of all the European countries

–List all the shapes you can see. Or all the colors. 

–List all the blonde celebrities you can think of.

–Pull up a random block of text and count all the As in it, or Es or whatever.  

Now obviously, I am not a doctor. I am just an anxious person who has tried almost everything to help myself.  I’ve finally realized that the stuff people recommend never works because this is a disorder that thrives on free time and free mental space. When I do the stuff I listed above, I can breathe again. And I hope it helps someone here too. 

(Now this shouldn’t have to be said but if the “do nots” work for you then by all means do them. They’ve just never worked for me.)

[anxietyfreesuggestions]

Hi! First of all, thank you so much for making this blog. I love what you’re doing with it. I have a question about anxiety. I’ve been avoiding thinking too much about some personal issues in my life, but I think my anxiety is showing up physically because my left hand won’t stop twitching, I’ve been compulsively cleaning or not cleaning at all, and I’m hunched over the toilet right now trying not to throw up. What should I do to ease this besides exercise and sleep? Thank you! 💗

that sounds like a medical issue hun, and as neither of us are medical professionals, we recommend that you see a doctor or discuss it with a therapist asap!!

[anxietyfreesuggestions]

i think an important part of overcoming trauma is realizing that you really didnt deserve it… for years i thought i must have done something to deserve what i went through but really? fuck that. i didnt. you didnt do anything wrong, the universe doesnt hate you, and it really could have happened to anyone. you just happened to be put in a bad situation and you couldnt possibly have deserved anything that happened to you. its so easy to blame yourself but you have to let go of that in order to recover

[anxietyfreesuggestions]

Life is made of ups and downs, and so is healing. It is not a linear process, so don’t get discouraged.

[anxietyfreesuggestions]

don’t believe everything your anxiety tells you. anxious thoughts can be very scary and stressful, but aren’t usually true.

[anxietyfreesuggestions]

hey i need commissions <3

i know its christmas and no one has a lot of money right now! but i just graduated high school and i have to start paying for my phone + help my mom with money so if you guys could commission me that would be nice!!

art will cost anywhere from $3-$10 depending on what you want! you can direct message me to get some drawings!!

(ps i can do full bodies i just havent in a lil bit sksks)

[anxietyfreesuggestions]

It is never too late to transform yourself

[anxietyfreesuggestions]

Hi everyone!! I’m researching environmental vegetarianism for a school project, so if you are vegan or vegetarian, especially on the basis of animal-based industries being harmful to the environment and/or being unsustainable, please fill this out!! If you aren’t, a reblog would be greatly appreciated :)

[anxietyfreesuggestions]

you survived, and now its time to live.

[anxietyfreesuggestions]

Despite everything, here you are. Fighting through it all

[anxietyfreesuggestions]

No matter how far you’ve wandered, you can always return to yourself.

[anxietyfreesuggestions]

Slow progress is still progress.

[anxietyfreesuggestions]

i know that this may be hard to believe, but:

you are not a burden

you deserve happiness

you deserve to be listened to

you are so strong

you are kind

you are amazing

your situation right now is not your forever

it’s going to get better

your best is good enough

you are good enough

you are beautiful

you deserve to live your best life

you’re working so hard

you’ve gotten through everything that has been thrown at you so far; you can get through this too

you are worth so much

you are wonderful

you can choose positivity 

your past does not define you

your mistakes do not define you

your grades and achievements do not define you

your mental health does not define you

your struggles do not define you

it’s never too late to try again

it’s never too late to start

you are cared for

you are valued

you are so important

i am so proud of you

you’re going to be okay

[anxietyfreesuggestions]

it will get better

[anxietyfreesuggestions]

Purple Buddha Project Insta

[anxietyfreesuggestions]

one day you will be happy. not constantly, but it will become a theme in your life. you will have days where you feel sad and that’s normal. but eventually you can wake up with a smile on your face even if there isn’t a reason. you’ll see yourself through a clearer lens. you’ll think of the best case scenarios. you’ll find people who you can share your happiness with. you’ll settle into your own body and mind with a sense of security.

[anxietyfreesuggestions]

the sun will still rise tomorrow, no matter how today went