How I Relieve Stress & Anxiety

Over the past few days, my anxiety has flared up drastically and ever since Sunday evening, I have been doing everything in my power to keep myself feeling relaxed and calm. It hasn't been easy... I mean, heck, I have been crying on and off for days! However, I have found a few techniques that have been working really well for me. Although lifestyle posts are not my usual thing (I usually post one every few months or so,) this topic means an awful lot to me as I have suffered with both anxiety & depression for years now and so I thought that I would hop online & share a few of my tips with you all. I hope that you find them helpful!

1. Colouring
Adult colouring books have become all the rage this year and I have well & truly jumped on that bandwagon. I honestly do believe that doing something creative can give you something else to focus on your attention on - plus, its pretty fun too! The two books I currently own and am working my way through are Millie Marotta's Animal Kingdom and the Zen Colouring Advanced Art Therapy book - which I strangely couldn't find online! Concentrating on such a simple task is really helping me to pass the time and I am really enjoying experimenting with lots of different colour palettes too.

2. Apps
I had used a few apps in the past but have never used them on a regular basis. However, I have re-downloaded a couple to help me through this difficult period that I'm having. There are so many apps out their that help you deal with stressful situations but my favourites are 'Calm' and 'Headspace.' I think it's really important to actually listen to your body and to your emotions rather than suppressing them and these apps allow me to do just that. Simply lying down or sitting somewhere quiet, listening to some relaxing sounds or going through a guided meditation is really helping me so far!

3. Lush baths
Last but not least, you can never go wrong with a good old-fashioned Lush bath. Pamper nights are one thing that I can always rely on to make me feel a little better. Using a bath bomb or taking the time out to give yourself a manicure may seem pretty trivial but I find it really useful. Different things definitely work for different people! I love how scents can relax me and a bubble bath can really make all the difference if you are feeling tense too!

A few extra tips:

- Listen to your body; make sure you are getting enough rest and are eating properly.
- Never be afraid to talk to your friends and family about how you are feeling.
- Take everything one step at a time, so that everything feels more manageable.
- Most importantly, be proud of yourself for getting through each day!

I hope that these tips may be helpful to some of you, as I am finding them to be quite useful for me this week! Hopefully I feel a lot brighter and less anxious soon! If you have any tip of your own, please feel free to share them with myself and other readers by leaving a comment down below :)