The Easy Way to Handle Anxiety, Johnny Montoya [the chimp paradox TXT] 📗

Keep your home clutter free

A cluttered up home makes for a cluttered, confused mind, and you don't need that. You might think it won't make much difference, but it really does. Having a tidy home environment helps you to think clearly and relax.

 

Spend half a day having a big clearout. Go through each room, get all your possessions, and separate them into 3 piles.

 

Pile 1: For things that you think you need

 

Pile 2: For things that you're not sure about

 

Pile 3: For things that you don't think you'll want to keep

 

Don't think too hard about it, just get everything into a pile. Or put different coloured stickers on items that are too big to move around.

 

Then, go through pile 2 and make a decision to get rid of it or to keep it. Then do the same with pile 1. As soon as you have plenty of stuff in pile 3, bin it all. Get it out of your life. Then arrange what's left so that you have as much space as possible. You should do this every few months.

 

Turn your bedroom into a place for relaxation. Create as much space as possible, make it as aesthetically pleasing as you can, and make use of relaxing colours like blue and green. And keep windows open most of the time.

Create physical comfort

If you're too hot, it may make you fidgety and prone to anxiety at times. So make sure that there's a pleasant, comfortable temperature throughout your home. When it's cold, it's not so bad. In fact, a low temperature is very helpful, hence the following advice.

 

Open your curtains and keep windows open to create a nice flow of air. Hearing and seeing the outside world will also blur the lines between inside and outside and prevent you from feeling isolated.

 

Have a fan positioned wherever you spend the most time, and one for your bedroom too. Keep a bottle of water close by, and some ice in the freezer. You'll have the ability to instantly feel fresh, cool and hydrated if you're feeling anxious. This will give you the peace of mind of knowing that you can control your environment, and it will reduce the chances of you panicking. Drinking water also keeps your mind alert so you can think clearly and rationally.

 

Get a spray bottle and fill it with water so you can spray yourself and keep cool. If it's really hot and it's just you, go ahead and get naked if that's what it takes to cool down. Just make sure you can quickly get dressed if you need to. Unless you're very friendly with the neighbours, or you're an exhibitionist like me.

 

Arrange your furniture so that your lounge has a pleasant vibe to it. Make your bedroom comfortable and a place of balance and safety. Put a nice relaxing picture on the wall.

 

If you're a nervous, jumpy sort of person, try setting an abrupt alarm over and over again until it becomes meaningless. That's a good way to train your amygdala to not take stuff like that seriously. If your doorbell is loud and abrupt, ring it repeatedly for the same effect.

 

One more tip. We often associate nice emotions and memories with scents, so get some incense or air freshener to create a nice atmosphere.

Create familiarity

There may be times when sitting around at home with nothing much to do could make you nervous, restless and prone to anxiety. Maybe you had an unfortunate event or conversation earlier and it's bothering you, or it could just be one of those days.

It's times like that when you should give yourself something to keep you focused and occupied. There's nothing wrong with a little bit of routine if that's what it takes. So if you're at home with nothing much going on, here are some suggestions for keeping you pleasantly occupied.

List a few TV programmes that give you a sense of comfort and familiarity. It doesn't have to be anything particularly intellectual, just stuff that makes you feel pleasant, for whatever reason. Familiar faces and theme tunes can have a soothing effect. It's good to have something nice to look forward to, even if it's just in the background. Then tell yourself that when those programmes are on, everything is cool. Just knowing that something nice will be on soon is enough to create the same feeling.

 

Do the same thing with radio stations. Find an interesting talk radio show and get into it. Train yourself to find the host's voice reassuring.

 

Have a nice range of books to read. Choose topics that will keep you engaged for a long time.

 

What's your favourite food? Try to have something nice prepared that you can grab whenever you like. They don't call it comfort food for no reason.

 

Think of activities that you like doing, and do them mostly at certain times, so you have something to look forward to. If you're going to do chores around the house, play some relaxing or uplifting music while you do them. I used to go for walks at night and when I came back I put on the radio and did some washing up. It became a very comforting thing for me, but I don't do it any more because I gradually found myself needing it less and less.

 

If there's a particular time or day when you're more likely to feel restless, you now have plenty of ways to change that, and turn it into a time of pleasantness.

 

The idea is to give yourself the peace of mind of knowing that there's always something to focus on. Don't stick to the same things for too long. Mix it up. Get into different habits. Let them evolve. That way you won't become dependent on anything in particular, and you'll train yourself to seek comfort in whatever you happen to be doing.

 

You don't have to do all of this. Just pick what you think will help. Try not to get compulsive about it. It might feel weird at first, having all these little things in place, but it will help a lot, and after a while it's no big deal. And the best part is that over time you'll naturally let go.

Maintain positivity

What you do and what you think about really does influence how you feel. I want you to replace all unnecessary negativity with things that help you. If you want to turn your home and your thoughts into sources of positivity, you're going to have to look at your habits, and change a few things.

 

Avoid negative, demotivating TV programmes, music and websites. Make a list of interesting and positive programmes like nature documentaries and feel good movies. Skip the news. It's mostly depressing anyway. Listen to uplifting or relaxing music that makes you feel good, rather than dark, pessimistic songs. Do a search for positive, inspiring websites, and check them out. You'll be surprised how much you'll find.

 

Reading books, articles and forums about anxiety can work for or against you. First of all, try not to do it too often. There's no need to dwell on anxiety all the time. Secondly, even though they may mean well, some forum members tend to be negative, and you really don't want that to rub off on you. If you like, why not use forums to create a role for yourself as someone who is making progress, and has advice to share. Reinvent yourself as a mentor.

 

If you really want to get a fellow anxious person's opinion, or you want to see if anyone has asked a question that you have in mind, go for it. Just don't overdo it. Stick to reading stuff that focuses on offering solutions, rather than problems or victim mentality.

 

The same goes for thinking about anxiety. If you're going to think about it, think about solutions. Don't allow yourself to worry about something without ending on a good note. I'm telling you right now that even the smallest scrap of positivity makes a difference, if you give it loads of attention. Become a master at spotting every positive aspect to a situation, and magnifying it.

 

Your Safe Zone starts at home. The last thing you want is to be anxious there. It's happened to me a few times and it's particularly irritating because where do you go? So don't let it get to that. Your home should be the one place where you can easily get your thoughts together and be yourself.

 

I also don't want you to become too obsessive about the things that we've just looked at. Just do them, develop some good habits, then leave it. And then occasionally change things around a bit. For example, rearrange your furniture from time to time, or try out different radio stations, TV programmes and activities at home.

 

If you can think of anything else that will make life easier for you at home, put it in place. You want to create a nice, comfortable, decluttered environment, and have plenty of pleasant things to get on with.

 

There's a lot more we can do to make your home even more of a haven. And while we're at, it we can make the prospect of expanding