Anxiety Tips and Tricks

Stopping the Anxiety in its tracks

• What is the anxiety stemming from?

• What starts the train of thought?

When your mind begins to wonder, if you are like me it goes down a trail of crazy thoughts. Try and catch these thoughts before you go down that path. Here are some tricks that can help when you get there.

What is causing the fear? 

Meditation and Yoga

• Headspace-App can be purchased but there is a yearly subscription fee- a lot can be found on youtube (meditation)

• Yoga with Adriene

• Calm app-also has a yearly subscription but a lot can be found on youtube (meditation) 

• If you are in a place where you can not do the apps, go to the bathroom or somewhere and do the breathing on the apple watch-this will help for a little while. Or If you do not have access to an apple watch, hand breathing also helps. Trace the outline of your hand, as you go up each finger breathe in and as you go down each finger, breathe out. 

• Journaling- if you are having anxiety but you do not know what about just start writing! Or try and write one thing every day that made you happy. 
• Make a list of the things you can control-sometimes our anxiety comes from the things we can not control. 
• Go for a run-even if you are not a runner, some form of exercise will help release some endorphins 

STAY BUSY!!! If you feel a panic attack coming on literally do something or get someone or call someone or idk DO NOT JUST LAY THERE. 

Music and Podcasts

Music and podcasts help me the most because it replaces positive things with the negative things that are going on inside my head. Especially at night when I am trying to sleep. 

• Louie Giglio has some really great podcasts!! He is a preacher at passion city church in Georgia, My favorite goes along with my favorite book. “Don’t let the enemy sit at your table”

• Steven Furtick at elevation church- he has lots of great podcasts about anxiety and worry.

Songs that help me:

-Words I would say 

-P E A C E

-You say 

-Hills and Valleys 

-You are loved

Books:

Goliath must Fall- Louie Giglio

Get out of your head- Jennie Allen

Any book by Bob Goff- not necessarily about anxiety but his positive outlook is contagious.

Stop the chatterbox-Steven Furtick (this is about stopping those inner thoughts” 

Bible Verses: 

“Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up” (Proverbs 12:25)

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10

Philippians 4:8, NIV: “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things.”

Hello people!!! It has been awhile since I got on here and made a post. I have been reflecting a lot about this experience and how it has impacted my life. Since I have been diagnosed with anxiety and have worked on my overcoming, I have met a lot of new people of all ages along the way. From these people, I have heard about so many different experiences and techniques to help overcome it. Since I have gone through this experience, I have noticed that I am able to spot out people who struggle with anxiety and what to do when an attack hits. I have come to the realization that the Lord has given me an experience like this so that I can help others who may struggle with the same thing.

The other day I noticed myself starting to get anxiety about something and I started flipping through my bible. I stopped on the book of Joshua and began reading. It is amazing how much the Holy Bible can relate to our time today. Joshua was written in 587 B.C and it is still relevant TODAY, IN 2018. Furthermore, the purpose behind Joshua was to emphasize the Lord’s faithfulness and fulfilling his promise to us. The book begins with the Lord telling Joshua of Moses’ death. He commanded Joshua to lead the people to their inheritance and it is possible they will run into some obstacles along the way.

When I first read this I stopped and thought.. Oh my goodness I cannot imagine if the Lord gave me a task like leading these people to their land being their leader!!!!! But then as I sat back and thought about it, the Lord gives us tasks like this all the time, he calls out by name to do things even when we are unsure. We are all sometimes just like Joshua. Sometimes he gives us big tasks because he knows we can handle it. These tasks also remind us that we can do anything when we are faithful to him and remember his promise. He says to Joshua before his journey, “Have I not commanded you, be strong and courageous, do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9

He doesn’t just approach Joshua and say do this I believe you can do it. He says be STRONG and be COURAGEOUS. He tells him I WILL be with you WHEREVER you go. Just think, whatever you are going through in life, whatever task he called you to, whatever journey you are about to embark on, you will never go through it alone, just like Joshua on his journey. Be strong and be courageous, even when you feel like you cant. Be thankful for each day and what it entails. Be confident in yourself through whatever task he may give you. Whatever journey you may embark on, you will learn from. My journey through anxiety completely changed my life. I walked through the valley and came out stronger than before. Talk to him as you go through these tasks, he will always listen.

 

I have a prayer that I pray every morning. I want to share this with you all and challenge you to start each day with a similar prayer

Dear Lord,

Thank you for another wonderful day. Please remind me today that no matter what may happen, you are with me wherever I go. Please use me to be a light to others and show me the ways that I can make someone’s day better. Please remind me to be strong and courageous when I feel discouraged or frightened. I cannot wait to see what is in store for this day. Thank you for all that you have done for me. (Sometimes I even say “well I’ll talk to you later” before I say amen hahah) amen.

WHAT AN AMAZING GOD WE SERVE!!!

Be strong & Courageous

~Kandi K

I want to start this post today about something that is so special and important to me. Through my journey with anxiety it is no surprise that I let my fears take over my faith. When our fears are overstepping our faith, we feel lost and alone. We need a reminder to trust in him. One thing that I look for when I am the most stressed is a penny. I know pennies are not used very often anymore, but finding a penny is like finding gold to me. Some people say that finding a penny with the heads up is “lucky” but for me, finding a penny is a reminder. My grandmother taught me that pennies are reminders for us to trust in his promise to us. If you look at the top of the penny it says “In God we Trust.” What a beautiful and simple reminder!!! Every time I am stressed out, I look for a penny, and you should too. I bet there will be one laying around somewhere if you look hard enough. I have an entire mason jar full of reminders to always remember “In God we Trust.”

While overcoming my anxiety I have learned a lot about myself. I have learned that I am stronger than I ever thought I was. I learned that googling pictures of baby sea turtles can make your day brighter. But most importantly I learned how to not let these fears take over my life. I am constantly looking for new ways to redirect my thoughts to positive ones. I no longer look for things to worry about that I can not control. The other day, I had a panic attack for my first time in three months. Quickly, I started to sweat and hyperventilate and immediately remembered how much I hate having panic attacks. It was then when I noticed that I am stronger than I ever thought I was. In the midst of this panic attack I was able to calm myself down and remember to trust in the lord. I was able to notice my anxiety and shut it down before it got any worse. I reminded myself that the fears I am having at this moment are not as powerful as his plan for me. And shortly after this panic attack I even found a penny, I looked up and just smiled.

I was able to redirect my thoughts and shut down my anxiety, which is something I never once thought I would be able to do. I use an app called “headspace” for meditation. This app has meditation sessions where someone talks to you throughout the 5 minute session. It teaches you to take one thought and let it go. It forces you to focus on your breathing and learn how to calm yourself down. When I was having my panic attack and started to hyperventilate, I was able to shift my thoughts towards my breathing and focus on calming myself down.

Another technique I have used for my anxiety is yoga. I watch youtube videos called “Yoga with Adrienne.” Yoga is similar to meditation because it relaxes the mind and body. It helps me redirect my thoughts on my breathing and my body. I usually do yoga in the mornings and sometimes I even do it before bed. If you struggle with anxiety I would highly suggest trying yoga.

I hope this blog post finds you well, my challenge for my readers today is to download headspace OR do a session of yoga with Adrienne. Do something to take care of yourself, because you are more powerful than you think.

Happy Monday, send someone a smile today!!

Since this is my first post I just wanted to share why I decided to start this blog. Anxiety is something I have struggled with since I was a kid. However, it was only until recently that I really noticed it making such a huge impact on my life. I am sure whoever you are reading this, have experienced anxiety in some form or another throughout your life.

Anxiety is real. It makes you feel like you are trapped in a room full of your biggest fears attacking you all at once and all you can do is sit there and panic. No one truly understands what is going on either, it is like a foreign language to them. Everyone around you starts to notice that you are not being yourself. But just know this, you are not alone.

There will be days you do not feel like getting out of bed, there will be days you have no idea how you are going to get through them. Sometimes you will go somewhere just to take your mind off of things, but realize you are better off just staying home away from everyone. If you are like me you find yourself even having nightmares about the things that give you anxiety. There is no feeling quite like anxiety and it is important to understand that there IS a way out.

Anxiety is so common in our world today, we are all worried about our jobs, education, finances, relationships, SOMETHING. For some of us it is one of those things, for some of us it is all of those things at once. We all have our fears and we let those fears tell us who we are and what we can do. I have found a way to stop those fears from becoming the operator of your mind.

Anxiety can be rational or irrational, either way it is no fun. My anxiety usually runs on irrational fears. We tend to let our minds wander and we find ourselves dreaming up fears that we have no idea where they even started from. For me, when I think of a fear or start to get anxiety about something, I tend to let my mind jump to the worst case scenario possible and then worry about that for days. For example, if I write a paper at school and I used 3 of the same words from an article I wrote, I will start to panic that I plagiarized and I will be kicked out of school. WHAT?? This is what I mean by irrational fears, your mind tells you things that you know are not true or even possible, yet you let them destroy your happiness.

Throughout my journey of anxiety, I had a point where I hit rock bottom. I felt trapped inside my anxiety and felt like it had completely taken over my life. I found myself upset and lost on where I was with my faith. The first step to overcoming anxiety is getting on track with your faith. Through my journey, I have learned several ways to help minimize your anxiety, podcasts, music, reading, yoga, etc. Which I will be sharing more about throughout my posts. However, the number one thing you can do, is know that your creator and your savior is going to be the only person who can help you through this. He will turn the negative thoughts into positive ones, he will show you that your confidence is found in him, and he WILL remind you that you have a purpose.

Every post I want to share a challenge I have for my readers. I had a sweet friend introduce me to PassionCity church podcasts. So, my challenge today is to listen to a podcast by Louie Giglio from Passion City Church called “Don’t Give the Enemy a seat at your Table.” This podcast has meant so much to me and has put a new perspective in head on how the enemy can try and put these horrible thoughts into your head. He talks about how these negative thoughts we have are not thoughts from the Lord. We tend to let these thoughts take over our minds and “sit at our tables” when we should be sitting at the table with the Lord. The podcast is 40 minutes and I know ughhh this world is too busy for that, but trust me, it is worth it. Making time for yourself and your faith is worth it. While you are listening ask yourself, is the enemy at your table?

Be happy and think happy, you’re never younger than you are today!

Kandi

Thank you for visiting my blog! I am pretty new to this but I thought I would give it a try. I have had a tugging on my heart to start this blog and share my experience with overcoming anxiety and my search to a happy heart and a healthy mind.