kristinachung: Tips to Manage Anxiety - My Food 'N' Fitness Diaries

Hi Food N? Fitness Diaries readers! My name is Kristi and I blog over at lifesprinkles which is my little space on the internet where I write about living a healthy, balanced life inside and out.

My blog shares details of how I balance my life as a veterinarian living with my three dogs, Eddy, Alan and Jelly Bean.

(They?re a handful for sure, but I love ?em!)

I also talk about my love of good food and share healthy recipes such as my recipe for peanut butter cookie iced coffee <? one of my faves!

I?m so excited to have the chance to guest post for Ashley! When I saw her breakup letter post on anxiety and how many of you responded saying that you?ve dealt with similar anxiety issues, I knew it was a subject that I wanted to tackle. I?ve experienced my fair share of anxiety over the years and through a little trial and error, I?ve learned some tricks on how to manage it. So much of anxiety is about the need for control over an unknown situation or outcome ? you?re presented with a situation and your mind plays out all the possible scenarios that can occur and how you might handle each one in an effort to make you feel safe. While that can be good to a point, the unfortunate byproduct is a lot of stress and needless worrying. Let?s face it, we?re all going to be faced with anxiety from time to time, but that doesn?t mean it has to have a huge effect on your well being. So here are my tips!

Tip # 1: Turn anxiety into action. The next time you find yourself feeling anxious or worrying over something, ask yourself, ?Is there something I can do about it?? If the answer is yes and you can actually turn your anxiety into something productive (like creating a budget instead of blindly worrying about your financial situation, for example) then do it! If the answer is no, then let it go and move on.

Tip # 2: Find a healthy outlet. Talk to a friend, go for a run or get in the kitchen and cook something. Anxiety can create a lot of pent up energy and sometimes just getting all that nervous energy out can do wonders. When I?m feeling particularly anxious over something specific I like to call a good friend to hash it out. Having someone else weigh in with their opinion and advice usually really puts things into perspective and allows my anxiety to dissipate in a healthy way.

Tip # 3: Stop comparing yourself. I know, I know, easier said than done. In today?s world it?s so easy to compare ourselves to others but doing so can cause a lot of unnecessary stress and anxiety. The truth is that, if you look, you can always find someone who seems to have it better off than you do but, when it comes to life, everyone goes at their own pace and there is no right or wrong. What one person ?lacks? in one area they make up for in another and no one is perfect. Learning to accept yourself for who you are and where you are right now can ease a lot of anxiety and create a happier life overall. When I find myself making comparisons or feeling a little more down on myself than usual I?ll often start keeping a gratitude journal for a few days. After I spend a week or so starting each day by listing three or four things I?m grateful for I can usually feel a major shift in my attitude. I know it sounds corny but try it, trust me!

Tip # 4: Stay in the moment. So much anxiety stems from fretting over the future or worrying about the past. If I find myself experiencing anxiety over some future event I like to ask myself if there is anything to truly feel anxious about in this moment (Is there a dinosaur chasing after me? Is the ceiling caving in?) Nine times out of ten the answer is no.

Tip # 5: Give yourself a break. If you?re a go-getter or a bit of a perfectionist like me you probably like to be constantly on the go, taking on new challenges and checking things off of your to-do list. In the past, I?ve found it nearly impossible to sit still, feeling like I have a million things to do at any given moment. It?s taken me years and lots of practice to be able to learn to just let go and relax (I still struggle with it at times) but I do it by reminding myself that not only is it ok to relax on a regular basis, it?s actually healthy and necessary.

I hope you?ve found my tips to be helpful! Thanks to Ashley for inviting me to guest post and thanks to you all for reading! Feel free to pop on over to my blog and say hello anytime ? I love hearing from new people!

Kristi

Question: How do you manage anxiety? Any tips of your own to share? And, yes, diving head first into a bar of chocolate is a completely acceptable answer.