Stop Your Stewing: 3 Quick Tips to Manage Anxiety

Anxiety can put us in a loop of worry that gets us nowhere. Here are three tips to try today to manage your anxiety.

1. Read a story. Your brain is likely to consider characters’ perspectives. You may be distracted from your worry and look at your concern from a different point of view. The story can be a novel or a narrative article. 

2. Set a time to worry. When you recognize that you’re stewing over a problem, tell yourself that you will feel anxious about it during its timeslot. Remind yourself again and again. Your self-talk may sound like, “Oops. I’m getting anxious about that problem again. Not now. Wait till 5 pm.” During the worry time, journal your anxious thoughts. Set the journal aside at the end.

3. Get your heart rate up. Take a walk, lift weights, swim laps–or drop into a wall sit, plank, or another body-weight exercise. Research has shown that exercising can decrease feelings of anxiety.