Tips on learning to deal with anxiety on a daily basis

[Bailey98_]

Hello everyone. I just wanted to come on here, and to get peoples advice & opinion. I have bad anxiety. And I'm still learning ways & trying to change my overall thinking and how I look at things & to not stress over the littlest things. 

One time it was so bad that I didn't sleep for nearly a week. But I went and seek professional help. And I'm glad I did. Steps on working on myself and taming care of my mental health. But I'm on night time tablets.

I take that every night. But I don't know, it's like when it comes to bed - time, my body is tired but my mind is still overthinking. When it comes to bed time I turn white noise music, trying to teach myself good healthy ways for bed-time. And I switched my caffeine, I don't drink caffeine no more. I only drink camoile tea & caffeine free tea. Can someone gives me tips please. To somehow give my mind a break when it comes to bed time. 

[Bob_22]

Hi Bailey98_

Welcome to the forums and what a great question! I used to also have generalised anxiety and sleep is definitely a major component. In addition to combating symptoms during the day (which I did through Cognitive Behavioural therapy alongside my psychologist), I found certain strategies helpful when trying to get some good sleep. Firstly, I would exercise at least 2-3 times a week for about half an hour (my doctor said aerobic exercise is best) which helped a lot. I would also limit screen time before sleeping (or use night mode on my phone) and sometimes listen to ASMR or some relaxing music on mindfulness app I downloaded. I would also avoid napping during the day, no matter what time I woke up. Also remember that even though sleep is important it isn't everything. Don't stress if you have been lacking sleep or building a sleep debt and try to avoid forcing yourself to sleep. In my case, I found that if I followed good sleep hygiene my body would eventually follow suit no matter how anxious I was. 

Here's a quick little fact sheet from headspace on sleep hygiene if you wanted any more info or tips. 😊

https://headspace.org.au/assets/Factsheets/HSP225-Sleep-Fact-Sheet-DP3.pdf 

Bob

[Gambit87]

Hi Bailey98!

I know how you feel! I was in the exact same position for years. Im one of those people who only sleep 6 hours a night - but for years I would wake up 5/6 times a night on some nights id only get a few hours of sleep.

As bob_22 mentioned, sleep hygiene is key! Ive changed a few things up myself to make sleep more comfortable!

What has helped me to get better sleep is seeing a psychologist! talking about ones anxieties openly allows so much weight to be lifted from your shoulders. 

Learning acceptance and forgiving yourself. I got so angry and frustrated at myself for not sleeping properly and when it came to bed time i was almost afraid to go to bed because the thoughts of 'what if I don't sleep tonight' crept in. On the nights your having trouble sleeping acknowledge and accept it and forgive yourself - but also say to yourself that you are safe and have nothing to worry about!. I go to bed now not caring if i get sleep or not. Sometimes if my mind is racing a little i would put on some music (I usually use the spotify 'chill' playlists)

Tune out at night! - watch a light tv show, read a book, relaxation etc

physical activity/exercise! I do boxing and taekwondo 5 days a week and a long walk on the weekend - definitely tires me out at night.

Ive been doing this routine for about a year and a bit now and my sleep has vastly improved! I still only sleep 6 hours but ive gone from making up 5/6 times a night to barely 1 some nights and feel alot better!

all the best!

[ecomama]

Hey Bailey, Bob and Gambit have some tried and true strategies for you to put into good use. I love the term "sleep hygiene" lol, great one Bob! 

I've also been an unsettled sleeper since birth. It's taken a lifetime of trying things out to find what works well for me, ie when I do these things. 
I can easily survive on 4h per night, but enjoy a good night's sleep at times of 7-8h about once a month lol. 

Learning the discipline of meditation / mindfulness helps calm the monkey chatter in the mind at night. 
You learn how to control your mind and not think it controls you. 
This may take years to master but all attempts will see some progress with time. 

Lowering the lights around 2h before bed time helps. 
Having a warm bath with lavender smelling stuff helps calm and still the mind. 
If you use lavender ONLY when you are doing your winding down technique, you'll see your body responding to the scent and begin to feel relaxed at the smell. 

Having a MH Professional to talk all your anxieties out of your mind and learn how to "file" them will help alot. 

Making bed a comfortable and wonderfully soft warm place will help. Put efforts into respecting this space and getting nice things to create this for yourself. 

Of course you know not to take your phone to bed and scroll scroll scroll. 
I use my phone only in bed when I want to sleep, to find a Joe Dispenza meditation on YT or some other calming clip. Then flip my phone cover over so I can't see the light and turn over away from my phone. 
There are also stories you can listen to on YT with narrators who have THE most calming voices. I like those for sleep and can barely remember any of the stories! lol. 

Instead of thinking "I need my sleep. I need my sleep" winding your anxiety UP at night. 
Think I love my bed it's so soft and warm. I have other mindful bedtime techniques I've made up myself for extremely stressful times but see how you go with everyone's suggestions. 

Picking just a couple could help. 
Love EM

[Petal22]

Hi Bailey98,

Im sorry you are dealing with anxiety I understand it’s really hard to deal with this.

Congratulations on taking the steps by seeing a health professional and learning how to manage and change your thinking, it really is very possible to do but it takes practice.

When you have a anxiety provoking thought please try in the moment just to step back from the thought and “ choose” how to react to to it.

Sometimes our brains are on automatic and we just react but you can choose how to react in the moment.

You could just react in a more calmer way and just simply shrug off the thought and say oh gee thanks brain there’s another irrational thought and then focus on something in the present moment and not on the thought…… it takes practice but the more you can change your reactions the calmer you will become.

When it comes to bed time try a guided meditation for learning how to watch your thoughts… this is very beneficial over time you will reap the rewards 😊

Please practice staying in the present moment as much as you can when we are in the present moment and not in our heads our anxiety really decreases but it takes practice.

“ The bridge between knowledge and skill is practice “

“ The bridge between skill and mastery is

time .“

Keep doing your inner work because it’s the most important work you will ever do on yourself.

Please feel free to come back to us.

[Beeee]

Hello Bailey98_,

I can definitely relate to having my mind constantly running, even when I'm trying to fall asleep. It can be frustrating, especially when you're feeling tired but just can't get to sleep. Everyone has given amazing advice, a lot of which I follow myself and it actually works so I recommend trying it out! The only thing that hasn't been mentioned yet, which I find quite helpful is having a specific 'night time routine'. For me this looks like washing my face, doing my skincare, changing into pyjamas and reading for half an hour before bed. Your night time routine doesn't have to be the same as mine, but having a routine helps my brain realise "ah it's time to go to sleep now" and just helps the process of falling asleep easier as the cues help my brain recognise what it has to do. 

Hope this helps,

Beeee