Coping with Anxiety

Coping with Anxiety

Anxiety can be frustrating, but there are a lot of ways you can deal with it. Learning to deal effectively with your anxiety is an important skill to have. This is called coping.

Having anxiety doesn’t make you less brave.

Learning to manage or cope with anxiety takes a lot of courage!

A helpful way to think about coping is to look at it in two steps:

Understanding

  • Identifying your anxiety. Learning how and why something makes you feel anxious can make it easier to cope with it and to feel better. Try asking the following questions:
    • What is making me feel anxious? Is it a person, a place, or something else?
    • Why does this make me anxious?
    • How does it make me feel? What does my anxiety feel like?

Acting

  • Responding to your anxiety. Reacting to your feelings in a way that makes you feel better can be difficult. It is important to remember:
    • Always try to act calmly.
    • Your parents, teachers, and friends are here to help.

It’s important to remember that coping is not about ignoring challenges – it’s about learning to overcome them and “bounce back.” Your ability to “bounce back” is also known as resilience.

Resilience is:

  • Reaching out for help
  • Bouncing back from challenges
  • Learning to cope
  • Solving problems
  • Being brave

Here are some tips for coping:

If your anxiety is being caused by something or someone in a certain area:

  • Find something else to focus your attention on.
  • If that doesn’t help, try moving to another room (remember to check with teachers or parents if this is okay beforehand).

If you are anxious at home or during your free time, find a fun and simple activity to do.

Some examples are:

  • Reading a book
  • Completing a puzzle
  • Playing a game
  • Playing an instrument
  • Drawing or making art
  • Watching a movie

If the weather permits, and your parents say it’s okay, go outside and play or relax.

Some activities include:

  • Taking a family hike or walk
  • Playing sports
  • Watching clouds during the day
  • Looking at the stars with your family at night

Try doing something nice for someone else!

You can:

  • Share a snack
  • Offer a hug
  • Give a compliment

Talk to your family, friends, or teacher when you feel anxious, and ask them if they can help you feel better. These people care about you, and often they will be willing to help if you ask.

There are lots of other ways to cope with anxiety, and there may be many other activities that you enjoy doing that are not listed here. You can learn to cope with your anxiety.