Do you worry? Sometimes anxiety can feel like it is taking over our life. There are many different coping skills to use for anxiety. Some of my personal favorites are:

-7/11 breathing. Breathe in through the nose to the count of 7 and out through the mouth to the count of 11. Let’s try one in these commas,,,,,,, _,,,,,,,,,,,.

-Putting thoughts on trial. When you get a worrisome thought, look for the evidence. Is there any evidence to support the thought is actually true?

-Grounding- use your senses to look around the room you are in and notice 5 things you can see, 4 things you can hear, 3 things you can touch, 2 things you can smell, and one thing you can taste.

-Having a switch person. We all need a switch person if not several. A switch person is a safe person. A switch person is a person that helps you feel calm and content. It might be their kind words, their listening ear, or just their presence, but this would be a person you can call on in times of need. You can also do an exercise called “imagining a safe person.” With this exercise, even if you cannot reach your switch person, just imagining them with you can restore you to calm.

-Imagining your hundredth birthday party- when you are at your 100th bday party getting ready to blow out the candles, what do you want your loved ones to say about you, “she worried a lot” or “she lived with intent?”