Anxiety Strategies for Getting Through Your Day in Peace

By honing anxiety strategies for getting through your day in peace, you can experience calm rather than anxiety. Imagine living a full day, day after day, without being plagued by anxious thoughts, without experiencing the physical symptoms of anxiety that bog you down with misery. This life is possible and in reach of everyone, including you--no matter how intense your anxiety currently is. Perhaps surprisingly, a way to do this isn't about battling your anxious thoughts all day. That's exhausting and keeps you focused on, and thus stuck in, anxiety. Anxiety strategies for getting through your day in peace involve not struggling to change your anxious thoughts but to induce a sense of calm throughout your day. 

Anxiety can strike in seemingly random bursts, or it can stick with you in nearly every moment of your day and even through the night. Generalized anxiety, social anxiety, performance anxiety, obsessive thoughts, panic, and fear range in intensity from mild to severe. In any form and force, anxiety interferes with your mental health, wellbeing, and ability to enjoy life. The idea behind getting through your day with anxiety is to induce a sense of calm despite anxiety. With intentional strategies, you can cultivate calm and peace. The key is to intentionally develop and use them all day: morning, afternoon, evening, and night. 

Specific Anxiety Strategies for Getting Through Your Day

It's most effective to create a routine for creating a peaceful life first despite the anxiety and then free from it. Let these examples guide you in creating your own personal plan and anxiety strategies for getting through your day in peace. 

Morning Routine

Have you noticed that anxiety can be your alarm clock, screaming at you to wake up and worry? Instead of responding to its klaxon, begin a "get set" routine that puts you in charge of your daily state of being. 

• Get out of bed to empower yourself to move forward.
• Drink a glass of water to hydrate your brain.
• Sit in stillness in a favorite spot, breathe deeply, and notice sights, sounds, and smells around you.
• Take a mindful shower; when your anxious thoughts race, just let them come and go while focusing your attention on the feel and sound of the water and the rest of the shower experience.
• Eat a healthy breakfast; foods like whole grains, eggs, fruit, and nuts power your brain to stand up to anxiety.
• Have a healthy snack mid-morning and stay hydrated to avoid a drop in nutrient levels that maintain the brain.

Afternoon Anxiety Strategies

Often, anxiety revs up in the afternoon. Rather than giving up or fighting back, gently return to the idea of creating calm.

• Keep your brain empowered with a healthy lunch and more water.
• Take several slow, deep breaths (do this often throughout the day).
• Collect images and quotes to keep you focused on your purpose and passions; have your collection nearby (on a wall, in a notebook) so you have something to switch your thoughts.
• Feeling tense? Practice progressive muscle relaxation, tensing and relaxing muscles from your feet up to your head.

Evening and Night Anxiety Strategies

Anxiety makes it hard to relax. A lack of relaxation creates more anxiety. Anxiety prevents quality sleep. Sleep deprivation cause increased anxiety. Breaking this vicious circle involves self-care: learn to unwind and make it a habit. 

• Consider what brings you joy, and give yourself permission to do pleasurable activities every evening, even if it's for just a short amount of time. 
• Reflect on what went well during the day and how you'll do more of what works tomorrow.
• If to-do lists help you feel in control, plan tomorrow then put it aside; when you wake up worrying about it, remind yourself that you have the day planned already.
• Do yoga or other stretching before bed to clear your mind and relax muscles.

Creating a routine and using anxiety strategies to get through your day in peace, will, over time, help you boost your mental health and experience calm wellbeing.