Self-management of anxiety is an important skill for young people to develop. While it's essential to seek professional help when needed, there are several strategies that individuals can incorporate into their daily lives to better manage anxiety.

Understand Anxiety

  • Learn about anxiety and its manifestations. Understanding what is happening in your body and mind can help demystify the experience.
  • Anxiety is an unpleasant feeling that everyone experiences sometimes. You might describe it as feeling very nervous or “wound up”.
  • General anxiety symptoms can last for extended periods of time – it could go on for a couple of weeks or longer. It’s more than just being nervous. You might have anxious thoughts about yourself, other people, and how you think other people feel about you. You might also have anxious thoughts about the world around you and what’s coming in the future.
  • Due to the unpleasant nature of anxiety, people often worry that experiencing it is harmful. For example, you might fear that regularly worrying will make you go mad, or that the physical symptoms of anxiety, like a fast heartbeat, are signs of serious health problem. These fears naturally make people even more anxious which creates a vicious cycle of anxiety.

Mindfulness and Relaxation Techniques

Practice mindfulness meditation, deep breathing exercises, or progressive muscle relaxation to help calm the mind and body.

Exercise 1: Grounding

Grounding is a good technique to fend off symptoms of anxiety and stress when you feel overwhelming. Grounding involves trying to take your mind off of uncomfortable symptoms or thoughts. You can use the 5,4,3,2,1 method to ground yourself. Start by sitting in a comfortable place and taking a deep breath. Then try to focus on the following:

  • 5 things you can see
  • 4 things you can feel
  • 3 things you can hear
  • 2 things you can smell
  • 1 thing you can taste

Exercise 2: Relaxation

  1. Sit or lie down in a comfortable position
  2. Imagine you have an empty balloon in your stomach
  3. Try to inflate the balloon by breathing through your nose – breathe in while counting to 3
  4. Now slowly deflate the balloon by breathing out through your mouth
  5. Inflate and deflate the balloon a few times until you feel calmer

Exercise 3: Meditation

Find place to sit that feels calm and quiet to you. If you’re just beginning, it can help to choose a short time, such as five or 10 minutes.

  • You can sit in a chair with your feet on the floor, you can sit loosely cross-legged, you can kneel— all are fine. Just make sure you are stable and in a position you can stay in for a while. Feel your breath-follow the sensation of your breath as it goes in and as it goes out.
  • Notice when your mind has wandered. Inevitably, your attention will leave the breath and wander to other places. When you get around to noticing that your mind has wandered —in a few seconds, a minute, five minutes— simply return your attention to the breath.
  • Don’t judge yourself or obsess over the content of the thoughts you find yourself lost in. Just come back. When you’re ready, gently lift your gaze (if your eyes are closed, open them). Take a moment and notice any sounds in the environment. Notice how your body feels right now. Notice your thoughts and emotions. That’s it! Just practice. You focus your attention, your mind wanders, you bring it back, and you try to do it as kindly as possible (as many times as you need to).

Healthy Lifestyle

Prioritise regular exercise, a balanced diet, and sufficient sleep. Physical activity can release endorphins, which act as natural mood lifters.

Stay active and get regular daily exercise. Except during illness, one should exercise nearly every day. That doesn't necessarily mean hitting the gym or training for a marathon. But it does mean 30 to 40 minutes of moderate exercise such as walking or 15 to 20 minutes of vigorous exercise. More is even better, but the first steps provide the most benefit. Aim to walk at least two miles a day or do the equivalent amount of another activity. One can do it all at once or in 10- to 15-minute chunks if that fits the schedule better.

Mind-Body Practices

Explore practices like yoga or tai chi, which integrate physical movement with mindfulness can benefit anxiety.

Limit Information Intake

Be mindful of the media you consume. Constant exposure to negative news can contribute to anxiety. Set boundaries on the amount of news and social media you consume.

Establish a Routine

Create a daily routine to provide structure and predictability. This can help reduce feelings of uncertainty and anxiety.

One helpful activity is to make a list of the things that you normally do during the day. Include everything from work to meal preparation to household chores. Once you have an idea of the basic tasks you need to accomplish, you can start creating a general outline for what you might need to accomplish each day to stay on track.

Some people might thrive with a highly structured daily schedule that outlines activities in specific blocks of time, while others might do well with a loose list of things they need to get done in the day. Consider your motivations as well as what you need to get done. If it is something that is of high importance and needs to get done on a specific day, then schedule it into your routine and carve out that time may be necessary to make sure it gets accomplished.

Plans don’t always go as planned, though, so remember to be kind to yourself. This is not the time to put extra pressure and expectations on yourself. It's not easy to create new routines, or add structure to a day, when our lives feel completely disrupted and turned upside down, so it may take some time to get used to this "new" routine and be able to feel accomplished.

Set Realistic Goals

Break down larger tasks into smaller, manageable goals. Celebrate small victories, and don't be too hard on yourself if things don't go perfectly.

Setting academic goals and meeting deadlines can seem overwhelming. Learning how to set specific SMART goals can help you face your next looming deadline with confidence. The SMART in SMART goals stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound. Defining these parameters as they pertain to your goal helps ensure that your objectives are attainable within a certain time frame. This approach eliminates generalities and guesswork, sets a clear timeline, and makes it easier to track progress and identify missed milestones.

Watch this video on YouTube about how to write SMART goals effectively

Limit Stimulants

Reduce or eliminate the consumption of stimulants like caffeine and nicotine, as they can contribute to increased anxiety.

Social Connection

Maintain social connections with friends and family. Share your feelings with someone you trust, and don't hesitate to seek support.

Challenge Negative Thoughts

Identify and challenge negative thought patterns. Ask yourself if your thoughts are based on facts and if there are alternative, more positive interpretations.

Negative thoughts can contribute to problems such as social anxiety, depression, stress, and low self-esteem. The key to changing your negative thoughts is to understand how you think and the problems that result due to negative thoughts. Then use strategies to change these thoughts or make them have less of an effect.

Our thoughts, emotions, and behaviours are all linked, so our thoughts have an impact on how we feel and act. We all have unhelpful thoughts from time to time, it’s important to know what to do when they appear so we don’t let them change the course of our day.

One can learn how to change the thought patterns. Some of the steps you can take to change your negative thoughts include:

  • Use mindfulness to build self-awareness.
  • Identify negative thoughts.
  • Replace negative thoughts with more realistic, positive ones.
  • Practice acceptance rather than trying to avoid or deny negative thoughts.
  • Learn to cope with feedback and criticism.
  • Use a diary to track your thoughts.

Journaling

Keep a journal to express your thoughts and feelings. This can help you gain insights into patterns and triggers.

  • Pick the time of day that suits you best to write in the journal; setting a regular time is helpful but accept that it may be necessary to be flexible.
  • Start by expressing your feelings, allowing yourself time to name each one. Then move on to observing your thoughts and any patterns of thinking that might characterize you.
  • Start small. Begin by writing for only a few minutes on a subject of your choice – perhaps the day’s events or something that has been troubling you.
  • Create and express what you want from life and how you feel. There are no rules, and there is no wrong way of doing this.
  • Do not worry about spelling and punctuation – no one is here to judge you.
  • Choose a medium that suits you. Use a journal app, write on paper, use a computer, or record your spoken thoughts.
  • Accept that, at times, you may feel upset as you write. And that’s ok. Take a break if you need to. While this process will not fix all your problems, it will help you learn more about yourself.

Seek Professional Help

If anxiety persists or becomes overwhelming, consider seeking the help of a mental health professional, such as a therapist or counsellor.

Remember that everyone is different, and it may take some time to find the best strategies for you. Experimenting with different approaches and seeking professional guidance when needed is okay. Additionally, involving friends, family, or a mental health professional in your self-management journey can provide valuable support and encouragement.