Living with anxiety can be extremely challenging, especially as invisible illnesses are not seen as important to treat than others.
From our own experiences living with anxiety we would recommend:
1. Drink less caffeine
Yes. I know. It hurts to even type those words. As someone who lives for coffee and coca cola, it is a big thing to try and do. But stats show that too much caffeine can affect your mental health and make you feel more anxious.
2. Drop the people who make you feel like crap
Yes, easier said than done but some people just don’t understand what it is like to live with anxiety and often make it worse. If friends can’t understand and empathise with cancelling plans – then they are not real friends. Drop the friends that make you feel bad for not drinking, drop the friends who make you feel bad for not going out when you don’t feel up to it and just get rid of anyone that tries to make you feel small.
3. Read other people’s experiences living with anxiety
When you are living with a mental illness you can feel like the loneliest person in the world, but you are not alone. There are loads of lovely people online sharing their mental illness stories and providing tips and support. If you struggle talking out-loud, you can find a great messaging group online to have a chat with. Reading other people’s experiences and literally seeing the words that you have been thinking is such a relief I cannot describe that feeling but it’s worth it.
4. Keep a Journal
Getting the negative thoughts out can really help, even if you are the only person who will read those words. You can also try writing three positive things that happened that day so that when you are waking up, perhaps in the middle of the night, you can see these positive things and try and re-focus from the negative.
5. Speak to your doctor
Seeking medical advice can be an extremely important step to helping live with a mental illness. Whether you choose to take regular medicine such as anti-depressants or anxiety medication or if you are referred to the counselling programme, talking to the doctor can help move this forward in seeking professional help.
If you can afford it – I would always recommend private counselling, this can be expensive but it means you don’t have the usual NHS 20-week waiting to deal with.
What tips could you share? Do you have any advice for anyone living with a mental illness?
I love this list – I find that journaling is one of the best ways for me to cope with anxious feelings.
Also, it is so important to try to detach from individuals who contribute to anxious feelings, where possible.
LikeLiked by 1 person
This is such a great post with so many helpful tips, thank you for sharing! I’m trying to cut down on my caffeine intake as I always find I’m more jittery when I drink too much coffee, Keeping a journal is such a good one, writing things down really puts worries and anxieties into perspective. Fab post, really useful suggestions! ❤ xx
Bexa | http://www.hellobexa.com
LikeLiked by 1 person
Totally agree with stopping drinking coffee. It triggers anxiety.
Very good blog btw. Looking forward to your new post.
LikeLiked by 1 person
These are really helpful tips, thank you for sharing this! x
My recent post: https://lifeofellabella.blogspot.com/2019/01/how-to-keep-fit-and-motivated.html
LikeLiked by 1 person
Love love love!!! Alllll of this!!! I have anxiety and it took me a long time to figure out all these things – and I’m glad I did and I’m glad you wrote this for others who need it!!
Following your blog now too!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you for writing this post! So helpful ❤️ I have lowered my caffeine intake and try to distance myself from others who make me feel more anxious.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I dropped my caffeine intake quite significantly after being diagnosed. I replaced most of my caffeine drinks with herbals teas or just plain old water. It sucked at first but over time I’ve gotten used to it and actually prefer a peppermint tea to a cappuccino!
LikeLiked by 1 person
This is such a great post! So many advice ones you see involve big things that, with having anxiety, feel unattainable but these are so realistic, such as cutting down on caffeine. Thank you!
LikeLiked by 1 person
A nice little informative list 😊 definitely agree with all of the above (as someone who suffers with anxiety) although, I never actually knew about caffeine! So thank you for sharing!
Ashleigh x
http://www.thestoryofashleighdavis.com
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi! This post was really helpful. I decided to cut the negative people out of my life and I am happier for it. Had no idea about caffeine though! That could be difficult haha.
Thank you for sharing! 😊
Fran x
LikeLiked by 1 person