Do you suffer from chronic bouts of anxiety? Do these attacks become too much to handle, sometimes you worry you will end up in a hospital? If you answered yes to both questions, do not fret.
Yes, we understand how “do not fret” sounds like useless advice, but we ask you first to relax. Again, asking anxious you to relax is insensitive at best. We apologize, but trust us, we mean good, and we have recommendations for you to keep those anxiety attacks at bay.
Are you still with us? Yes? Good. Our recommendations don’t include yoga or meditation either. Surely, the thought of yoga gives you the shivers. You probably don’t feel confident in those tight-fitting wardrobe. Meditation is most likely impractical if the noises in your head are too loud to shush in a static position. So let’s skip yoga and meditation.
Instead, here’s what we have. Believe us; they’re calming.
1. Baking
In the midst of the worldwide lockdown from March until May, many people began an affair with baking. Like most affairs, the majority of these baking adventures ended up disastrously. But that’s beside the point.
Baking calms the mind. While you’re doing it, you’re almost spaced out, transfixed in the ingredients you’re mixing and whipping and kneading. You could not care less about the world, and your entire universe shrinks into the dough or batter in front of you. It’s a wonderful feeling.
Whether your product proves edible is a different story. And therein lies the fun after the calm.
2. Gardening
Gardening is another trend that became popular during this pandemic. And it’s easy to understand why. It’s an activity that requires minimal effort and resources. Even if you live in a building, deprived of a patch of land to garden, you can raise indoor plants in individual pots, and the activity will yield the same relaxing result.
Perhaps the reason why gardening is so relaxing is that you’re half-consciously tending life in its most fragile. Your nurturing nature bubbles up, and it can only be one of peace and kindness.
If more and more people begin to have a love affair with plants, maybe this world will become a better place. After all, if you can afford to be compassionate toward something virtually immobile and unresponsive, then perhaps you have it in you to be more accepting of your own kind.
Moreover, have you met a person who’s into plants but happens to be cruel? We haven’t.
3. Walking
All kinds of exercises allow the production of neurotransmitters that make you feel good or at least relaxed. But if you cannot pull off weight training or even running, walking should be enough of a compromise.
Walking clears the mind of unnecessary thoughts. It’s one of the easiest ways to zen out. Try walking around your neighborhood, with protective masks on, of course, and feel its calming effects. If you have a canine companion to walk with you, even better!
Make sure to wear comfy shoes and clothes when you venture out for a walk. Also, do so early in the morning or late in the afternoon to avoid too much sun.
4. Cuddling
Please don’t tell us you’ve never cuddled in your life. We do not want to feel sorry for you because feeling sorry for another person reinforces inequality and hierarchy. Nonetheless, cuddling is a human right. And you should not deprive yourself of the calming effects of cuddling.
When you cuddle, you feel safe. Whether you’re the small or the big spoon, it will make you feel un-alone, or less alone at the very least. If you have no one to cuddle with, it should not be a problem. You can always hire someone to cuddle with you.
The service might cost you $80 an hour, but it’ll be worth it. If you have a fat wallet, you can even pay for the service of two professional cuddlers and have a threesome cuddling session where you’re a small spoon and a big spoon at the same time.
The pandemic has worsened people’s susceptibility to anxiety. There’s the mortal threat of contracting COVID-19. There’s the instability of the economy and the job market. So much to worry about at the same time.
Now, more than ever, we need to train our brains to keep calm. After all, panic won’t do us good. Panic will drown us in cortisol, and that’s one of the causes of a severe stroke. To alleviate anxiety symptoms, try any or all of the activities mentioned above. If your anxiety levels stay the same, as cliched as this may sound, please consult your doctor.
