Hey Pandas, What Are Your Go-To Tips For Managing Anxiety? (Closed)

A simple thing that always helps is cleaning my apartment. Just quickly washing the dishes, putting away clothes and random stuff - little things like that. Not a cure for anxiety, but I always feel calmer and more collected in a nice environment.

Breath in, hold for 4 seconds, breathe out, hold for 4 seconds. Repeat it 4 times. Check how you feel. Repeat if necessary.

Engage in a mini-project to occupy your mind, anything that requires you to focus your attention elsewhere. Surely there is something around the house, yard or flat that needs fixing, rearranging or tidying up. Or watch that movie that has been in your queue for months, or listen to that artist’s new album, or finish that book you started a while back, or go for a walk somewhere safe. In other words, do something to take your mind elsewhere. If all else fails, there is always ice cream!

I am dying of cancer! Nothing can beat that . Cant get worse than that! Leaves me with only one thing to worry about!

I have a bad habit of over thinking and constantly thinking about whatever it is I’m anxious about, so quiet things like drinking tea or cleaning don’t help me because I’ll be over thinking things while I drink tea etc. so I go for a walk outside where there is distractions with my headphones in playing music to drown out my thoughts, I do take supplements to calm me down like l-theanine and then a change of scenery and music, music helps.

Cute animal videos on YouTube

Marijuana, in some form. And boy howdy! I need more in my 60's than I ever did when younger. Caretaking my 90 year old parents is very stressful.

Get BUSY. SING
I've suffered from clinical depression caused by anxiety and overthinking.
I've managed it every time I get an anxiety attack by keeping myself busy in smaller or longer tasks, it could be cleaning my wardrobe, doing dishes or even writing a poem or novel or start a language courae that I have no intentions of completing. And for the Rush of thoughts
Sing
You know the time when you try to keep yourself busy and your body is working but yoir mind is still making scenarios and thinking and rethinking events, Singing really helps, sing with words, sometimes loud to overcome the vouces in your head
So mine
BUSY & SING

Listening to hard rock/metal music while imagining myself as a fantasy warrior fighting epic battles against demons and gods.

As a student of psychology, I can add this tip: Bounce a ball against a wall, or do some juggling (or something similar which involves the use of quick reflexes and/or eye-to hand coördination). The human mind can't handle 'planning' (which anxiety is a derailed version of) and quick action responses at the same time, and it gives precedence to the quick action part. This gives your chemical regulation system the time to reset.

A warm drink for starters. Herbal teas like sage/mint help. Monitor my pulse objectively. Distractions like washing my dishes (not my fav chore), doing laundry by hand, cleaning the house, or watching some videos on YT help at times.
But sometimes my body defeats me. It weakens me with crazy palpitations, high pulse rate, breathlessness, and nausea. Most of the time I tell my mind that this is a physical reaction to some assumed threat in my brain. And that I am not in any danger. So I can let it work through my system, like a fever, without any panic. Sometimes that doesn't work.
The most recent episode was when I was packing for an unplanned solo trip to Benaras the night before (As a pessimistic Indian woman who hadn't told her family that she was setting out all alone with no plans or reservations, I was a little off-kilter). The anxiety was sharp and set in very suddenly, with all the sparks and bangs. Meds didn't help. Neither did tea nor objectivity. I was beginning to panic for real. I even wondered whether I should cancel my trip. Luckily, a cousin called out of the blue (the first time she did in ever) and we talked. Random things, some normal conversation. Mission Distraction: Success! I calmed down and set off happily.
I had a great trip if anyone is wondering. So glad I didn't give in.

Hugging my dog and listening to Music preferably Mike Oldfield.

Eating a popcicle :P

Get on the phone with a close friend. Tell them what's going on. A lot of times just talking about what's wrong with someone I trust will reduce my anxiety a lot.

Calming tea or lots of water, also cleaning, somehow it reduces stress for me as my mind is occupied with other things.

For anxiety about something huge, I do what I can to change the problem instead of getting depressed.
Also, I monitor my water to avoid dehydration.

Deep breaths first of all, that's really important, and then I usually call a loved one. That always helps. :)

Go for a walk, outdoors under the sky. Just walk and breathe.

I go to a close family member or friend and just stay close to them. It helps, somehow.

Medication. I have an anxiety disorder, and will need a combination of medicine, active mental training and a fairly stressfree life for the rest of my days. And when all this is working, on a good day, I can sometimes have a whole day without mind crushing anxiety.