I have been in therapy since 2016 combating a multitude of anxiety issues, so I have learned quite a lot when it comes to this topic. Here are 4 coping skills I use in my daily life to live with my anxiety in a healthy way.

1. Recognize/accept the emotion you are experiencing- When experiencing a strong emotion such as fear or anxiety, you first need to acknowledge that it is there. When one tries to ignore the emotion and push it off to the side, many times what ends up happening is sort of like a snowball effect. Each time you ignore the feeling you are experiencing at that time and don't properly address it, the snowball of anxiety just gets bigger. So to change that, simply stop for a few seconds and give that emotion some recognition because while it may be irrational, it is still real. This takes practice, but it is the first step in being able to cope and utilize the skills that follow.

2. Distinguish if there is fact or fiction behind your anxiety- This skill is absolutely paramount. For those who deal with anxiety, you know all too well how irrational it can be. It can become extremely frustrating when you know how illogical and unjustifiable these thoughts are, but they still linger in your mind. Well one skill that helps me with this tremendously is asking yourself if your thoughts are based in fact or fiction. Once you distinguish what the thought is constructed around, you can then better chose the right path for coping with this thought. This skill has probably given me the most clarity out of all of them, and is one that gives me "lightbulb" moments when realizing how false my thought is.

3. Ask yourself if you are in danger or discomfort- This is a great skill for those who suffer from panic attacks, but it can still be applied in other areas of anxiety as well. When your body enters into panic attack mode, your sympathetic nervous system is essentially in overdrive. Normal functioning of this system consists of fight or flight response, increased heart rate, reduced appetite, and increased perspiration. Our bodies were built this way in order to protect us from actual danger. For example, when you are walking alone at night and hear a loud noise, there is genuine concern for safety and your body appropriately becomes alert. So with that said, anxiety takes this functioning to a whole new level. When you suffer from anxiety, your brain is interpreting the stimuli around you as if it always needs to be on the verge of fight or flight. Your brain sees everything as a threat and with that, your nervous system is then activated each time which is what causes the physical sensations of shortness of breath, sweaty hands, trembling, and a rapid heart rate. This is where the concept of danger vs discomfort comes into play. Each time you begin to feel the symptoms of panic or anxiety arise, ask yourself if the moment you are in right now causes a legitimate threat to you (like dying, having a heart attack, being injured). While you most definitely might feel that way, most times the realistic answer will be no. Ask yourself, where is the evidence? Is there anything to back up this claim? By doing this, overtime your brain will begin to learn that it does not always need to be in this state.

4. Use your 5 senses- This is a great grounding technique for anxiety, and the concept is pretty simple. When we are anxious, we tend to drift off into what I call "anxiety land". To get out of that world and back to reality, you can use your 5 senses to temporarily ground yourself. Start with your eyes. What do you see in front of you? Identify it, and then move onto the next sense. What do you smell in the air around you? Can you describe it? Does it remind you of anything? Go through all the senses, and even repeat that exercise over and over again until you feel as if it has taken an effect on you.

I truly hope this article can help someone struggling with anxiety. Learning these skills in therapy has significantly altered my perception surrounding my irrational patterns of thinking, and I am now able to begin a journey to living a free and compassionate life. My anxiety will always a part of me. However I will no longer allow it to control me, and using these skills helps tremendously.