Sometimes anxiety gets the better of us – even if you aren’t living with an anxiety disorder, you will all have experienced anxiety as an emotion AND guess what?! That’s perfectly normal. Anxiety is an instinctive and important response to danger that was once a key part of survival and is pretty handy today. So just quickly then, what is anxiety?

Well it’s your body responding to a perceived threat and flooding with adrenaline – it essentially prepares you for battle or running away (fight or flight). Pretty handy, huh? The problems start when your body is flooded with the adrenaline when there is no immediate danger (or at least you can’t figure out what has triggered it) and it happens so regularly that it starts to overwhelm us and affect our day to day lives. Anyyyyway, chances are if you’re reading this, you already know all this fuckery – but I do want to reiterate that you’re not abnormal if you’re experiencing this, it isn’t your fault and you are certainly NOT ALONE. It’s estimated that 1 in 10 of us have a disabling anxiety disorder*.

Seeing as it’s something that affects so many of us (nice to meet you, take a seat), I thought it might be an idea to put our heads together and pool our knowledge and so I took to Twitter (of course) and asked THIS:

What do you do to distract yourself from anxiety?

I know there are plenty of head on ways of dealing with anxiety and treatment methods that are tried, tested and pretty successful – but sometimes, mid-panic, all we can do is distract our little brains and hope for the best. If you’re trying desperately to take your mind off things, here are some tips and suggestions from people who live with anxiety disorders and responded to my call on Twitter.

118 Things to Try When You’re Feeling Anxious

1. Watching YouTube
2. Twitter
3. Listening to Audio Books
4. Eating Noodles (me, obvs)
5. Riding a motorbike
6. Having a nap
7. Meditation
8. Grounding Techniques
9. Getting into nature
10. Walking around a quiet shop
11. Playing Candy Crush
12. Epsom Salt Bath
13. Lavender Essential Oil
14. Colouring
15. Jogging on a treadmill
16. Writing
17. Chamomile tea
18. Cleaning
19. Making handmade chocolates
20. Painting rocks and hiding them around your local town
21. Cutting the grass
22. Breathing exercises
23. Drinking water
24. Having a snack
25. Showering
26. Working out
27. Reading
28. Helping someone without getting caught doing it
29. Make videos on how you are feeling
30. Make positive lists
31. Using the “Calm” app
32. Hiking barefoot
33. Shaking your head
34. Browsing Reddit
35. Listening to music
36. Running
37. Computer Games
38. Snuggling your pet
39. Reflection
40. Listening to the Pigletish Podcast (yay! thank you so much guys!!!!)
41. Polishing glasses
42. Calling family/friends
43. Fearne Cotton’s Happy Place podcast
44. Singing to yourself
45. Knitting
46. Getting off social media
47. Table Football
48. Face masks
49. Deep breathing
50. Squishing soft things
51. Repeating positive mantras
52. Visualising your anxiety leaving
53. Walking in the woods
54. Watching a horror movie
55. Watching the West Wing
56. Standing in the cold
57. Having a hot bath
58. ASMR
59. Deep breathing
60. Yoga
61. Making Art
62. Watching your favourite TV show
63. Going out for coffee alone
64. Meeting a friend for a coffee
65. Tai Chi
66. Needle felting
67. CBD oil
68. Stretching
69. Doing the chores
70. Cooking
71. Baking
72. Crocheting
73. DIY
74. Editing videos or images
75. Playing Glo Grid
76. Watching a comedy
77. Praying
78. Lighting candles
79. Making a nest
80. Studying neuroscience (or focusing your mind in another way)
81. Listening to radio 4
82. Netflix
83. Watching Friends
84. Going for a walk
85. Learning a language on duolingo
86. Following @pigletish (awwww thanks)
87. Syncing your breathing with a gif or video
88. Spending time with family/friends
89. Volunteering
90. Chewing gum
91. Noticing your surroundings
92. Accomplishing little tasks
93. Eating dark chocolate
94. Reading Laurell K Hamilton (fantasy romance)
95. Playing guitar
96. Building self confidence
97. Giving food to the homeless
98. Counting
99. Blogging
100. Writing about anxiety
101. Making a donation
102. Encouraging someone else
103. Talking to someone you trust about your feelings
104. Hugging a pillow
105. Getting into bed
106. Getting out of bed
107. Reading articles
108. Window shopping online
109. Doodling
110. Painting
111. Drawing
112. Taking a staycation in a local hotel
113. Rescuing a dog or a horse (honestly, you people are fancy)
114. Going to a restaurant
115. Swimming
116. Going to the library (nice!)
117. Reflexology
118. Acceptance

There are some solid favourites of mine on that list (as well as some things I may try; I personally can’t imagine anything more distracting than rescuing a horse – do they mean adoption or like from a lake?). One thing I would say is that years of panicking has told me that it’s important not to try too hard to fight it, so while some people may be at home in a social situation or find comfort in a restaurant – during an anxiety attack is NOT the time to push your limits. It’s cool just to eat pizza in bed. Please try to work with your anxiety, not against it – pick your battles and build up your ability to meditate/exercise and practice mindfulness in your calm moments.

I’m so happy that so many of you made suggestions… also someone did ask me what I do if I wake up anxious in the middle of the night and I’ve said it many times before, but I’ll say it again:

AUDIOBOOKS.

AUDIOBOOKS.

AUDIOBOOKS.

2