I was in New York a while back, and I was lying in my bed. I had just had an excellent breakfast. It was my day off. I had this fantastic new job, hosting a show, so I had been having a great time with great people. But that morning for some reason, this anxiety just crept over me. And I lay in bed, and I was like, “Oh, it’s here again.” When I feel like that sometimes I’ll cancel stuff, I won’t go out, or often in advance, I just don’t agree to things in the first place. In that moment I was staring out the window at the Empire State Building, and I thought, “I am not going to let this feeling, take over me. 

“I am not going to miss out on any more opportunities. “I’m in one of the most beautiful cities in the world. “I am not going to stay here and wait for this feeling to pass.” And I didn’t. That was the first time I’ve done it. I got up anyway. I  got up and said, “Right anxiety come on. Put your LYCRA on, we’re going out.”

Who knew you could take the anxiety with you? It’s so empowering. 

Other methods that work are this breathing technique where I breathe in for three seconds, and I imagine a paint brush going up a wall, and then I breathe out for six seconds and imagine the paint brush going down the way in a slow wavy pattern. And your breath just follows the brush. Or you can just put your day in bite-sized chunks and think of one thing at a time. Like all you have to do first is get out of bed, then have a shower, then eat. Keeping it in chunks like this avoids the overwhelm of thinking about the whole day. 

Walking in nature is calming, even if only for 5 minutes. Or just lie on the floor and get grounded. Managing anxiety is about changing our thoughts but also regulating our emotions and slowing down our breathing and slowing down our activity. Meditation and essential oils are powerful too. How do you manage yours?