"Just breathe"
"You'll get through this"
"Everything will be alright"

These are only some of the phrases I repeat to myself time and time again whenever I start to feel anxious or am in the middle of having a panic attack. In fact, even as I'm writing this now I feel anxious. My hands are shaking, I feel like I can't breathe, my legs and arms feel numb and everything feels like it's closing in on me.

I know I'm only one person out of the millions of others who deal with anxiety on a day-to-day basis. And while some are able to put it in the back of their mind and lock it up, others, like myself, have a harder time coping with it. Coming into the new year, one of my goals among many of them on my list include taking more time to focus on me and my mental health. It's important that we let people know that they are not alone in this and they will get through it.

So I decided to ask 5 people how they deal with anxiety, here's what they had to say.

1. Age 19

"Sometimes just taking time for yourself helps. Things like watching a movie, sleeping in, watching Netflix, eating your favorite food. Surrounding yourself with loved ones who comfort you is also important. Taking deep breaths and the smell of lavender can also help."

2. Age 20

"Breathe in for 5 seconds, hold for 6, release for 7 often times will help me and just focusing on my breathing and nothing else."

3. Age 22

"I try to make the conscious effort of realizing my anxious thoughts and stopping them. Not taking that train of thought and leaning towards something positive. It takes a lot of practice but it does really make a difference."

4. Age 39

" I exercise most days of the week which is my best remedy. I practice 4-7-8, breathe in for 4, hold for 7 and out slowly for 8. At times placing my face in cold water helps my anxiety and I also meditate which also eases it. I look up meditation videos online or ocean music. Certain music can bring me out of a funk as does walking in nature."

5. Age 42

" I can bring them on as well as keep them from climaxing with my own thoughts. I put my mind in a relaxed state and start making a gratitude list in my mental notebook and sometimes physically move to a different place/location. Also, surrounding myself with people have worked since I was little, too."

So there you have it. As for me, even though it's only been happening for a little over a year, there are many different ways I try to cope with both my anxiety and panic attacks. I'm not going to lie, when it first happened I didn't know what to do or how to react. I let it take over me instead of trying to fight it and I ended up confined to my bed for weeks because I truly believed I would never go back to how I was. But by taking it day by day, I came to a state of mind where I was able to face my anxiety head on.

The first thing I did was I finally accepted the fact that my anxiety was going to be a part of my life. But just because it was a part of my life didn't mean it had to be the one thing that defined me. I decided to take something negative and turn it into something positive. My tips on coping with anxiety and panic attacks may seem simple, but they're things that have saved me from going back down that never-ending dark hole I couldn't ever seem to get out of.

I always start by realizing that I'm not being like myself and accept that something is happening to me. I always know I'm starting to feel anxious because my hands will shake. So I tend to try to keep both them and myself busy by working on things that require using my hands such as writing, typing, reading or knitting.

It also helps keep my mind focused on something else instead of being anxious. Reminding myself to keep a steady breathing pattern also helps because it helps keep me in control of something when I feel like I'm not.

The last thing I like to do is talk to somebody and either keep a constant conversation with them or have them tell stories so I don't get all in my head. For me, being alone when it's happening is the absolute worst because that's when I feel like I'm going to lose. Knowing I have someone there by my side throughout it lets me know that I'm going to be okay.

One reason why I wanted to do this type of article is that of the way mental health is represented in society. There is and always has been such a negative stigma surrounding mental health that people feel the need to silently deal with it. I've made it my mission to be open about it because I'm not ashamed of my anxiety.

I don't think you should be silenced for speaking up, I think you should feel brave and continue to raise your voice no matter what people tell you. You are not a burden, you are human and you are important. Always remember that.