Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsUnderstand the Connection Between Anxiety and DepressionAcknowledge Your AnxietySchedule a Worry BreakInterrupt Your ThoughtsPractice MindfulnessTry Diaphragmatic BreathingDo Something That Makes You HappyConsider What Your Anxiety Is Telling YouTalk to a Loved OneNext in Small Ways to Feel Better When You’re Depressed Guide’I Hate Life': What to Do If Nothing Makes You Happy

Table of ContentsView All

View All

Table of Contents

Understand the Connection Between Anxiety and Depression

Acknowledge Your Anxiety

Schedule a Worry Break

Interrupt Your Thoughts

Practice Mindfulness

Try Diaphragmatic Breathing

Do Something That Makes You Happy

Consider What Your Anxiety Is Telling You

Talk to a Loved One

Next in Small Ways to Feel Better When You’re Depressed Guide

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Everyone goes through periods offeeling anxiousand worried. After all, it’s a normal human experience. Having tools to help you calm your mind and body can reduce the intensity and duration of these feelings.

Here are nine strategies that can relax your mind, ease your anxiety, and help you regain control of your thoughts so that you can feel better.

1 - Understand the Connection Between Anxiety and Depression

While not a specific strategy, understanding the connection between anxiety and depression can help you determine if what you’re dealing with is temporary or a sign of something more serious.

According toLeela R. Magavi, MD, a psychiatrist and regional medical director forCommunity Psychiatry, anxiety and depression are intertwined and frequently exacerbate each other. Part of the reason, she said, is because the same neurochemicals are implicated in both conditions.

More specifically,Julian Lagoy,MD, a psychiatrist withCommunity Psychiatry, explained that since decreased serotonin causes bothdepression and anxiety, it’s common for someone with depression to also feel anxious at the same time. That’s why it’s critical to acknowledge feelings of anxiety and share them with an expert, especially if you’ve been diagnosed with depression or are showing signs of depression.

What to Know About the DASS-21 Depression Anxiety Scale

2 - Acknowledge Your Anxiety

Acknowledging when you feel anxious allows you to take steps to ease the symptoms. The first step is to accept that you cannot control everything.

To do this, the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA) recommends putting feelings of stress or anxiety in perspective.

How to Acknowledge Your AnxietyWhen you have an anxious thought that won’t go away, ask yourself: “Is it really as bad as I think?” Take yourself through the process of breaking down the thought before jumping to the worst-case scenario. If you still answer yes, ask yourself the following:How do I know the thought is true (what is the evidence)?Can I reframe the thought into a more positive or realistic scenario?What are the chances the thing I’m worried about will actually happen?What is the worst possible outcome? How bad is this, and can I handle it?This exercise is helpful for people who deal with chronic anxiety and worry.

How to Acknowledge Your Anxiety

When you have an anxious thought that won’t go away, ask yourself: “Is it really as bad as I think?” Take yourself through the process of breaking down the thought before jumping to the worst-case scenario. If you still answer yes, ask yourself the following:How do I know the thought is true (what is the evidence)?Can I reframe the thought into a more positive or realistic scenario?What are the chances the thing I’m worried about will actually happen?What is the worst possible outcome? How bad is this, and can I handle it?This exercise is helpful for people who deal with chronic anxiety and worry.

When you have an anxious thought that won’t go away, ask yourself: “Is it really as bad as I think?” Take yourself through the process of breaking down the thought before jumping to the worst-case scenario. If you still answer yes, ask yourself the following:

This exercise is helpful for people who deal with chronic anxiety and worry.

3 - Schedule a Worry Break

It may sound counterintuitive when looking at strategies to help you find relief fromanxiety, but allowing yourself a short worry break each day can free up your energy to focus on the task at hand. How you set this up depends on your routine.

How to Take a Worry Break

One way to take a worry break is to schedule a chunk of time later in the day, maybe 15 minutes after dinner, to go through your worries for the day.

Earlier in the day, you can write down any worries or anxieties that creep into your mind. Then, give yourself permission to deal with them later. This allows you to go about your day while still acknowledging that something is bothering you.

Later, when you go over the worry list, make sure to set a timer. Review what you wrote, identify any thoughts that are still causing anxiety, and cross off those that don’t seem important anymore. Allow yourself a few minutes to sit with each concern.

Worry Time: The Benefits of Scheduling Time to Stress

4 - Interrupt Your Thoughts

While it might not work every time, you may find that taking a break from overthinking can lead to fewerintrusive thoughtsthroughout the day.

Here are some techniques to try:

Negative Automatic Thoughts and Social Anxiety

5 - Practice Mindfulness Meditation and Relaxation

Mindfulness meditation, relaxation and breathing exercises can help calm your mind and body, which may allow you to feel less worried.

Plus, it only takes a few minutes each day to feel a difference. Use this time to be aware of what’s going on in your mind and body.

Start with five minutes a day and work your way up to mindful moments several times a day.

To help you get started, listen to a guided meditation, or recorded breathing exercises. Once you feel comfortable with the practice, you will find more focus and awareness throughout the day.

Best Guided Meditations

6 - Engage in Diaphragmatic Breathing

Engaging in diaphragmatic breathing and registering bodily cues could help you better understand your emotional response to stress, according to Magavi. Many people who experience anxiety find it helpful to partake in guided body scan meditations while breathing slowly and deeply to identify how each emotion triggers disparate sensations in their body, Magavi said.

You can use this information to think about how to respond verbally or behaviorally. She recommends using diaphragmatic breathing and pranayama, which is alternative breathing or the practice of breath control.

The Benefits of Deep Breathing

7 - Do Something That Makes You Happy

When you’re feeling anxious and want to take your mind off the stressor, Lagoy says to carve out time to do the things you love like:

5 Types of Self-Care for Every Area of Your Life

8 - Consider What Your Anxiety Is Telling You

Feeling anxious isn’t always a bad thing. In fact, anxious thoughts could be yourbody’s way of giving you valuable information. The next time you feel worried, fearful, stressed, or have overwhelming thoughts of dread, stop and take a deep breath.

Instead of defaulting to “this is my anxiety talking,” reframe how you view the situation and ask yourself if your body is trying to tell you something.

Do you need to slow down? Maybe you’re getting sick, and your body is responding to stress. Or maybe, there is a real threat, and you need to take action.

The Benefits of Anxiety and Nervousness

9 - Talk to a Loved One

Sometimes the best thing you can do is to call or text a friend, partner, or family member. Maybe you just want to vent or maybe you want to be distracted for a bit—a loved one can help you feel like you’re not alone and shift your attention to something other than the source of your anxiety.

Keep in mind that, even though loved ones mean well, they could make your anxiety worse especially if they start freaking out too. So, if you go this route, make sure to choose someone who’s known to be calm and won’t add to your anxiety.

Summary

Occasional bouts of anxiety and worry may just be a sign that you need to take a break and implement some of the strategies listed above. Adding exercise, meditation, diaphragmatic breathing, or a worry break into your day may help ease your mind. But if anxiety, nervousness, or worrying becomes excessive or begins to impact your life, it might be time to seek professional help.

What You Can Do to Cope With Anxiety

2 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Anxiety and Depression Association of America.Generalized Anxiety Disorder.n.d.Chen KW, Berger CC, Manheimer E, et al.Meditative therapies for reducing anxiety: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Depress Anxiety. 2012;29(7):545-62. doi:10.1002/da.21964

2 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Anxiety and Depression Association of America.Generalized Anxiety Disorder.n.d.Chen KW, Berger CC, Manheimer E, et al.Meditative therapies for reducing anxiety: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Depress Anxiety. 2012;29(7):545-62. doi:10.1002/da.21964

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Anxiety and Depression Association of America.Generalized Anxiety Disorder.n.d.Chen KW, Berger CC, Manheimer E, et al.Meditative therapies for reducing anxiety: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Depress Anxiety. 2012;29(7):545-62. doi:10.1002/da.21964

Anxiety and Depression Association of America.Generalized Anxiety Disorder.n.d.

Chen KW, Berger CC, Manheimer E, et al.Meditative therapies for reducing anxiety: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Depress Anxiety. 2012;29(7):545-62. doi:10.1002/da.21964

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