How I Overcame Chronic Anxiety and Panic Attacks
Disclaimer: This blog post is intended to educate, inspire, and support you on your healing journey. I am not a psychologist, therapist, or medical doctor. I do not offer any medical or professional advice. If you are suffering from mental illness, please seek help from a qualified health professional.
Hey there–welcome to my first blog post!
Let me start off by saying I know 2020 was far from what we were all hoping for. I’m not under any impression that I’m the only one who had a really difficult year. But I do want to share the challenges I faced with my own mental health journey and instill some hope for those of you who may still be really struggling.
So you want to know what cured my anxiety? The answer: a million little things.
I could honestly write a book trying to recall every step I took toward living a better life (maybe I will one day!).
I looked back over the last year and half and decided which things I did made the most impact. I created 6 steps, in order, on how I got out of my rut. They’re all important and they all work together.
I’m not sure how severe your situation is, but just so we’re on the same page, let me first illustrate what a typical day looked like for me.
January 2020 (Pre-Pandemic)
I would wake up exhausted, no matter how much sleep I got.
I was in a constant state of dread–always wishing the day would be over faster.
I was nearly always “on edge” feeling nervous for no particular reason.
I was chugging coffee all day in an effort to feel more energized.
Things that should’ve felt exciting, didn’t. All I really wanted to do was go home, put on some sweatpants, and lay in bed.
I felt trapped in my situation, with no light at the end of the tunnel.
It took ~no joke~ all of the energy in my body to do things like pack my lunch and tidy up my living space.
I would remember something that happened in the past and instantly become really angry.
I would feel isolated and ostracized around other people.
I would somehow find something to cry about every day.
Panic attacks were normal. I was having 3-5 per week.
** Something crucial I’d like to point out: During this entire period of time I was eating really healthy and drinking plenty of water. I would work out twice a week. And I was sleeping 7-8 hours most nights.
If you resonate with any of these, you probably know how unbearable anxiety is in day-to-day life. So here are the things I did. Not perfectly, and definitely not consistently at first. But for the sake of feeling better, each decision was well worth it.
Attend to your physical health first.
Yes, I just mentioned that even though I was eating right, exercising and sleeping enough, I still had anxiety. But I know that not everyone attends to this need right away. Plus, I want to add to the list:
Eat right and eat enough. Fruits, vegetables, protein. Less sugar. Three solid meals. Lots of water. Limit alcohol. Nothing you haven’t heard before!
Sleep 7-8 hours, but make sure it’s good sleep. No phone or eating an hour before bed and stop hitting snooze in the morning.
Exercise. Just get your heart rate up 3 times a week for 30 minutes. You don’t need to over do it. (Yoga has been a life-saver for me!)
Get some sunlight. Go for a walk! Even if it’s cold–bundle up.
Laugh. Watch a funny show that you like or call your biggest goofball of a friend. Honestly this works wonders to your current mood!
Take deep breaths. In for 4, hold for 7, and out for 8. Repeat.
This is the first step for a reason. It allows you to begin gaining some control over your life. It builds confidence to change some of the harder things later on.
It also gives your body a baseline to begin healing in other areas.
2. Make a big change if you can.
Start over. Give yourself a fresh start.
Although it was very inconvenient, and sacrificial in a lot of ways, I moved to a new city and got a new job. However, I know this isn’t possible for everyone.
Making a big change could be painting your walls a new color, rearranging your furniture, or getting a new haircut. There’s something about changing the physical aspects of life that help jumpstart changing the way you think. More on that later.
You can make new friends, go to a new grocery store, and find new places to hang out. There are ways to make your life feel new.
3. Find a good therapist.
A mentor, counselor, life coach, whatever you want to call it. Do whatever you have to do. Therapy is extremely important. This is the part of the journey that heals the emotional wounds that anxiety stems from. Everyone needs a safe place to be honest about tough life experiences and receive guidance that not all personal relationships can give. Therapists are trained professionals that know exactly how to help people who feel the way you do.
If you are unable to get into therapy, a really good alternative is to learn about anxiety on your own. Read a book, follow some therapists on social media, read a blog (good job, you’re already here!), watch YouTube videos, etc. You can learn a lot just by finding the right resources. The internet is a wonderful tool! Understanding what is happening in your mind and building awareness of what you’re experiencing leads to solving your way out of it.
4. Limit social media and consume better material.
This one is surprisingly more powerful than you think. Anxiety lives in your subconscious mind (the underlying feeling behind your thoughts). For a long time I was always saying, “I’m feeling anxious and I don’t know why!” The media you consume (social apps, TV, music, etc.) also influence your subconscious feelings. See the correlation? For example, if you see 6 posts in one sitting about people getting married (and you aren’t), subconsciously you might feel left out without having one conscious thought about it.
Read more about how to change your subconscious mind here!
Additionally, cultivate media that is positive and informative. Unfollow, mute, block the ones that aren’t helpful and find some that are. Here are 7 pages that I follow that I find to be very helpful as well as make my social media experience much more informative and positive:
@the.holistic.psychologist
@wetheurban
@megandonelancounseling
@notsosecretdiaryofanxiety
@selfcare4yu
@myselflovesupply
@dr.christina_
On top of that, I try to limit my social media check-in’s to once a day. Doing this allowed me to free up time to do the things I actually enjoyed, like reading, spending time outside, and self care. I believe that it encourages you to live in the present moment more than scrolling your phone does (not always, but in most cases).
5. Fake it til you make it.
I have a love-hate relationship with this phrase, however……. I do believe that you have to be it to become it.
The way you show up every day (even in the smallest of ways) has a huge impact.
You want to be a less anxious person? Stop labeling yourself as someone who has anxiety. What would a non-anxious person act like? How would they respond to situation X? What would they do in a day’s time? These questions guided me toward who I am today.
Journaling became my best friend for this step. I began scripting.
A helpful exercise that I tried to do once a day was to answer this prompt, “What does a perfect day in my feel like?”
Pro Tip: I did not include crippling anxiety in my perfect day-to-day-life.
For example, I wrote, “I woke up feeling well-rested. I felt relaxed on my way to work and was excited for my day. During my shift at work I felt social and energized. I came home and had enough energy to work out and go for a walk.”
Did I feel this way instantly after one journal entry? No, of course not. The body and nervous system are complex and need time to reset. But doing this exercise allowed me to imagine a life without anxiety, which was the goal.
After a while, it really did transform into my reality!
6. Calm your thoughts.
Changing your thoughts can be difficult at first, but like anything, it can become a habit after doing it consistently. Here are some quick tips:
Stop judging yourself. No more “I should be feeling BLANK, instead of this!” Just allow yourself to feel what you’re feeling whether you want to feel that way or not.
Stop worrying and being overly concerned about the future. Focus on the present moment. What can you choose to focus on right this second and nothing else?
Accept your past for what it is. You can’t change it. Keep your eyes looking toward the better life you’re creating for yourself.
Breathe deep into the knowing that your future will work out the way it’s supposed to. Things are unfolding perfectly. Trust.
Read my post, How to Change Your Thoughts for a deep dive on this!
The more you navigate away from thinking about painful experiences and the undesired circumstances you may be enduring, the less anxiety you will have. This isn’t ignoring hardships that you are facing (that is what therapy is for), but rather choosing to live in peace despite the challenges.
That’s a brief run down, but in whole, that’s how I did it. Again, there’s a million tiny adjustments I made to get to where I’m at now. And remember, this is a process. The more you commit to making these changes and completely immerse yourself in the journey, the faster you’ll feel better.
February 2021 – 14 months later
I am panic attack free!
I experience light anxiety maybe once a week.
I have energy and motivation throughout the day.
I try to stick to coffee every other day.
I sleep 10 billion times better.
I focus more on having fun and I now feel excited for things!
There are plenty of areas in my life for me to still improve upon, I still have work to do. But the absence of anxiety has allowed me to do so many things that a year ago would’ve seemed impossible.
I am so, so thankful for how far I’ve come. I’m so glad I kept going and I’m so glad I didn’t give up on myself.
Now it’s your turn. You can do it too. I believe in you. Remember, if it’s possible for me, it’s possible for you too.
