How can I overcome anxiety if I can't talk to a therapist or my own doctor?
307 Answers
Last Updated: 06/10/2022 at 1:54am
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Top Rated Answers
Try to take deep breaths, in through the nose and out through the mouth. Or try to use a stress ball or some kind of putty or slime. It's helped me with my anxiety. Or if you can, you can talk to one of your closest friends or talk to a school counselor if you're a student. Try going for a run or do anything that can take your mind off or relax you. Try doing yoga or listen to calming music or even sleep can work to calm someone down if they become stressed or they become panicked.
Anonymous
May 2nd, 2019 4:16pm
A great place to start is re-connecting with yourself to find out which may cause your anxiety and how intense it/they can trigger you. I've been dealing with anxiety by writing journals. At the anxious time, take notes about your feeling and current situation, then by the end of the day write a full page of journal to fully keep track with your anxiety. Also, being able to write down what is on your mind might be a stress-relief activity. I hope that you can add this hobby into your daily life to get know yourself better from time to time so you can overcome anxiety easier.
Anonymous
March 29th, 2019 10:00am
Write down things that make you happy. Take as much as time you want but write it down. Claim a favorite spot in your home and always go and sit there once you feel down. It helps. Take deep breaths and count till 10. Start drinking a lot of water and don't do things that you don't want to. Tell yourself that it's okay to be the way you are everyday. Think about things in a positive way, try finding out the positive aspects of things hold it would help you to a great extent. Pay attention to your hobbies and master in a hobby that you love the most.
Please remember that it's important to seek professional help if your anxiety is bothering you a lot. Professionals know exactly what to do and how to diagnose you. I obviously don't know why you can't go to a therapist or doctor but maybe you could consider speaking to a therapist on 7cups. If you don't feel like you want/can get professional help, you might be able to get help from friends or family. Try dealing with your anxiety in little steps and don't force yourself if things don't feel right at all. You need to feel ready to overcome your fears, otherwise it will just make you very anxious or make the anxiety worse if something happens. Again, I'd still recommend getting professional help in some way.
I would start with brainstorming. Think about, and figure out your triggers. Figuring out your triggers is important in helping your anxiety. Make a list of your triggers and become aware with them. Whenever you panic, write down what situation you are in, how your body is feeling, and how your mind is feeling. This will help you figure out and document how your attacks affect your body and mind. After completing this, I would make a list of Distraction Methods to try doing when you start to notice panic. This could be holding an ice cube, washing your face with cold water, taking a bath or shower, going for a walk, etc. This will make it easier for you to follow during an attack, rather than attempting to think on the spot while panicking. Then make a Self-Care list to begin practicing, as well as a comfort box to go to while panicking. These take some time to assemble, but are very helpful in the intense moment of panic. In my experience, these have all helped tremendously. Hope this helps!
There is an exercise that I did a while ago that was eye-awakening for me. Imagine that you finally got an an interview dream job. You wake up 2 hours early, get ready, play out the interview in your head over and over again. Just as you open your door to step out, however, you see your bag on fire. What is your first thought that comes to mind? How would you interpret this event?
This exercise reveals how we think when given a situation we don’t understand nor expect. These incomprehensible and unexpected catch even “normal†off guard and lead them to panic. Predictably, it is worse for people with anxiety, because anxiety creates an irrationally extreme worst-case scenario. When you do this exercise, try to catch any errors in your thoughts. How likely are those thoughts to come true? While there are things that are out of control, what are some things you can do to alleviate the situation?
When I had anxiety, my first thought of this event was “of course this would happen to me on this day.†I would instantly lose my motivation and close the front door. Drag my feet to the bed. Not want to come out for days. Then I would feel guilty and regretful for not even going to the interview. For not being as motivated and strong as I should be. I would call in a few days later to apologize. Maybe I won’t even do that.
As you can see, anxiety is strongly linked to depression because when we are anxious, we make irrational, regretful decisions that lead to depression. Having anxiety for a long time is like being in a toxic relationship with someone who is constantly telling you to give up, get out, stop trying...So when you do the exercise, try to find where exactly you make your thinking errors before you fall deeper into a downward cycle. Is it that you give up too easily? Is it that you assume nobody will hear you out if something as crazy as this happened? Is it that you don’t look for help when you know you cannot handle this yourself? Is it that you assume you deserve it? Think about them carefully and stop the cycle.
Anonymous
February 21st, 2019 11:16am
It's important to talk to whoever you feel comfortable with, It's very normal to not want to talk to certain people about your anxiety, there are many online mental health charities that you could e-mail, message or speak to on the phone anonymously that offer great advice if you don't want to speak anyone in person, but taking the first step by speaking to someone you trust is the most crucial step. It's also important to note that it's absolutely normal to talk about anything that is causing you anxiety or that is playing on your mind and that there are many people out there who are willing to listen and that have experienced similar issues especially on 7 cups, you're definitely not on your own.
Anonymous
February 17th, 2019 2:58am
You can try various things that smooth you and calm you . Anything that makes you relieved of stress can help whatever you like to do and think is right . It’s all up to you because only you knows what’s good for your mental and physical health . There is also a lot of hotlines that will listen to you if you feel like 7 cups doesn’t really connect with you and what you’re looking for . You’re never alone there is always someone to talk to no matter what state you’re in or what you need help with .
The first thing I do if I have anxious feelings is to tell myself to remember that this uncomfortable feeling will pass! It might not be right away but by telling myself that it will pass I start to become more calm. You will never overcome anxiety, but that's ok because anxiety is normal at some levels because it often keeps us safe, but uncontrolled anxiety is very uncomfortable and if you can't talk to a therapist right away or your doctor, take a break...if you have a pet, sit with you pet, animals can be very therapeutic and often calming, it often works for me.
Anonymous
February 8th, 2019 9:16am
First step is understanding your own feelings. If you dont understand why you feel the way you do then it is hard to put it across to others.
Sometimes I couldn't explain my anxiety to my doctor or therapist because I would freeze, I'd talk about anything that meant I avoided the problem at hand. This is perfectly normal.
First step is always understanding what is making you anxious. Second step is separating those issues you can do something about from those you can't. It's about learning to let go of what you can't change and working on what you can
Consider using resources such as this! There are lots of online free chatrooms for you to vent about issues that could be causing the anxiety. Also consider looking at relaxation techniques to minimise the negative effects of generalised anxiety or anxiety attacks. Personally, I think grounding techniques are the most useful in preventing anxiety attacks or combatting them. Overall, a therapist or doctor could only give you the tools you need to overcome your anxiety- you are the one who has the power to overcome it. You are strong enough, all you may need is the right advice, the right tools, and the right mindset :)
Anonymous
January 26th, 2019 10:58pm
Anonymous conversations especially like the ones on 7 cups would be a great way to have others help your feelings of anxiety while helping you feel more safe and less alone. From my personal experience, feeling anxious makes you feel like no one should be trusted and everything that you are feeling should be kept to yourself. However, not reaching out will impede you from getting the help you need. Anonymous conversations can help you with both of those problems, because you are able to safely reach out without breaching your personal identity or feeling like you've gone too far out of your box.
In my experience it generally helps to ask yourself the questions “Why am I anxious? What about is is making me anxious? Is it worth being anxious over? Why?†Just placing names and words to what’s making you feel anxious in and of itself helps. If the opportunity exists to talk to someone like a friend, family member, or partner I would suggest taking it. Talking to someone even if they don’t have a degree can still help very much. Talk them through what is making you feel this way and why it’s important. Ask him if they’ve ever felt this way before and how they got through it if they did. If the opportunity isn’t available to talk to someone talking yourself through what made you anxious in the first place and figuring out why it made you anxious help a great deal. After figuring out what and why think hard about how to change the situation causing the anxiety and if it’s a situation outside your control think hard about how to cope with it healthily.
There are lots of ways to overcome anxiety. Talking to someone can help but not everyone finds it helpful. Here are some suggestions that may help manage your anxiety. Be kind to yourself - self care helps with so many things, think about things you enjoy and try to do those as often as you can manage. Make a list of what you enjoy and try different ones. Accept that you are anxious - try to accept that you are scared, anxiety is fear, try to pinpoint what it is that is making you feel scared, you might want to try writing things down or brainstorming ideas if you cannot work out what it is. Knowing the cause will help to overcome it. Practice relaxing - there are lots of ideas for this, mediation, exercise such as yoga, watching ASMR on youtube, etc. Finding something that help calm you down can help manage your anxiety when you are feeling it.
I talk to my friends. I write it out, listen to music. Put my fairy lights on, light some candles and incense. I make my space happy and comforting. I say no to things I can and I ask for support when I need it. I spend time creating an environment that helps me to feel less anxious, that means letting people in and doing things that don't necessarily 'fix' my anxiety but they do make a difference in the moment. I may still be anxious but I have created a positive space. Then I make time to talk to a professional, doctor or counselor.
Anonymous
January 3rd, 2019 2:43am
Try to breathe and think of other ways to cope. You can write down your problem or someone around you. Remember that it isn't the end of the world and you should take things slow. Even though things may seem like baby steps, they are steps towards a better direction. If you talk to others who have dealt with anxiety, you can feel better and your situation and know that you can get through this. I recommend learning breathing exercises you can do in public and when your at home you can meditate. In school, bringing a journal to draw/write things in can help.
It's important to have structure in your life. I find it really helps to have a routine and keep myself busy, try finding a hobby and allow it to distract you. It's also very important to challenge your thoughts, for example, you could keep a anxiety journal, with all your thoughts and feelings and try and get to the root of why you feel that way, and also acknowledge that it isn't rational. It can be very hard without help but remember you can do it! Just try and challenge everything and realise that what you feel is valid but isn't rational.
If you're unable to talk to a professional, there are self-help guides on anxiety, including the one here on 7 cups :) Common exercises are: mindfulness, meditation, and a journal to record anxious thoughts. You can also talk to a listener here if you'd like to talk through the self-help guides!
Anonymous
July 21st, 2018 5:20pm
One idea might be to write a letter to your doctor to let them know the situation and see if they have any suggestions. Another possible idea is to buy an anxiety therapy workbook, and work through the exercises in the workbook on your own at first, until you feel more able to speak to someone about it. Another idea, which I used myself, was to use the internet to find articles on how to overcome anxiety, and to find and print out worksheets about overcoming anxiety. Although talking to someone in person might be ideal, just because you aren't there yet doesn't mean that there is nothing you can do, and at some point in the future you may well feel more confident and less anxious about talking to a therapist or your doctor. Good luck! I am wishing you the very best. *hugs*
Searching for remedies, meditating, and listening to positi e music is the fist step to solving anxiety. The next step is to develop a schedule for yourself. This can be achieved in many forms, but should only be approached in a positive manner. Then, the source of the anxiety is to be found. Once it is found, the final step is to find a solution and put the solution into affect.
You could try ordering some self-help workbooks on the topic of anxiety, and trying to work through them on your own.
personally, I had to do a little exposure therapy on my own time. it sounds awful, but it helps. anxious about making an appointment? make an appointment. do what you are afraid to do, even if you go to make an appointment and hang up when someone answers, you are working towards overcoming your anxiety. affirm yourself as much as possible. realize that people don’t care as much as your anxiety convinces you that they do. other people are generally more concerned with themselves than they are with you. take it day by day. tell yourself that you’re going to do something to help yourself and then do it. don’t think about it because if you do, you’ll think yourself into not doing it. you’ve got this.
Anonymous
July 18th, 2018 7:02am
I have always found it helpful to go outside for a walk, or maybe even just go sit outside under a tree. And just look around and listen to sounds, touch the ground. Anything that will occupy your mind will honestly help.
Anonymous
July 15th, 2018 5:40am
Find something that'll cleanse your mind of the bad thoughts your anxiety creates. Do this by exploring things that'll relax you and make you calm.
You can get some activities like listening to music, some walking, reading books or you can talk your friends
Anxiety is an emotion created by our minds and to overcome it we can take small steps every day like we should start by countering the thoughts that run across our mind while we are anxious like our brain says you're stupid they won't like you then we'll counter it by saying that i love myself and i'll have to talk to them to know if they like me or not. Another way is to write about your thoughts when you're anxious and then take a deep breath count till 10 and tell yourself again and again that it'll be all good
Start investigating practising meditation and mindfulness and you will little by little understand the origins of your anxiety and this will lead you towards a path of self-healing.
You can overcome anxiety by talking to your true friends.They know you best and you can always trust them.
Talk to friends are family that can support you. There are anxiety workbooks online that have been helpful to me. If your anxiety is happening because of a certain thing, fix or do that thing to decrease anxiety. Exercising or being outside helps.
Anonymous
June 24th, 2018 9:16pm
Meditation. Breathe. If your anxiety is prohibitive from talking to your own doctor, is it possible to doctor to a doctor or therapist online? Anxiety can get out of control quickly and while some anxiety can be controlled with meditation and breathing exercises, some anxiety needs the treatment of a doctor.
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