Ten-Day Challenge to Reduce Anxiety

It can be a tremendous challenge to reduce anxiety. Don’t be mistaken (and outsiders shouldn’t be mistaken, either); it is not your fault that anxiety hangs on and on and on. It’s not because you’re weak. You’re not making it up, and it’s not in your head. You’re not blowing things out of proportion or making mountains out of mole hills. To be sure, anxiety does magnify problems and worries and fears, but that is anxiety’s doing rather than something you are choosing to do (Anxiety and Over-Thinking Everything). You are not your anxiety. You, then, have the power to challenge anxiety to a showdown. Try this ten-day challenge to reduce anxiety.

Why It's a Challenge to Reduce Anxiety

Anxiety has such a stronghold that it truly isn’t possible to eradicate it instantly in one fell swoop. It’s an incredible challenge to reduce anxiety because it hooks us thoroughly. Anxiety roots itself in the brain, impacting it at the neurochemical level and affecting multiple structures of the brain (Anxiety: It’s in Your Head [Your Brain]). This, of course, affects the rest of our being: our thoughts, our emotions, our actions (do you ever avoid people or situations? Thank anxiety and the way it works inside your brain), and our physical health.

To reduce anxiety, it’s effective to think small rather than big. Anxiety as a whole is a big, daunting, undulating dark mass of sticky goo. Broken down into bits, it’s much more manageable. Have you ever, like me, spilled Jell-O before it sets? Taken as one big puddle of goo, it’s impossible to clean up. The sticky goo smears, and it gets bigger and stickier.

Just as getting rid of gelatinous goo is possible when tackled bit by bit, so too, is eliminating anxiety when you approach it in small chunks. What little things can you do, what steps can you take, each day to reduce anxiety? Give this 10-day challenge to reduce anxiety a shot, and you just might find your anxiety diminish.

10-Day Challenge to Reduce Anxiety

The following suggestions are techniques that have been shown to successfully reduce anxiety. Not every technique works for everyone, so think of this challenge as an experiment, too. Try these in any order. The main idea is to use one to start and add more, one at a time, in a spirited challenge to reduce anxiety.

1. I Spy. Distract yourself from your anxious thoughts by looking around you and slowly and non-judgmentally naming what you see.
2. Oh, Snap. Wear a rubber band or other elastic bracelet around your wrist. When you feel your anxiety rise, gently snap it to remind yourself that you can pay attention to things other than anxiety.
3. Touchy-Feely. To reduce tension and induce relaxation, touch stuff: Squeeze a stress ball, squish clay or Play-Doh, make a shape with kinetic sand, or pour uncooked rice into a container and sift it through your fingers.
4. Bubbly. Blow bubbles, and blow away anxiety. This is a fun way to practice deep breathing and calm the mind and body. If you can’t blow bubbles, simply breathe slowly and deeply for the same effect.
5. Come Unglued. Zen Buddhists call it coming unhooked, or shenpa. Notice your anxiety, and then let it be. It’s not who you are, so don’t get tangled up in arguing with it. Turn your back, unhook, and slip away.
6. You’re Not the Boss of Me. Anxiety will try to control you, but you don’t have to do as it commands. If it tells you you’re not good enough for something, you don’t have to shrink away; show anxiety who’s boss by doing what you want to do despite anxiety.
7. I’m Not Listening to You. Just as anxiety has no real authority over what you do, it has no power over what you choose to listen to. Sure, you will hear anxiety, but you don’t have to listen. When anxiety is really loud, ignore it by listening to music and dancing to your own beat.
8. Run Away. Or walk, bike, swim, do aerobics, play tennis, kick a soccer ball, and more. Exercise improves both physical and mental health. Even a 10-15 minute walk every day will exhaust anxiety.
9. Go with the Flow. To reduce anxiety’s agitation, find an activity that you enjoy so much that you lose yourself in it. This experience is known as flow in the field of positive psychology. You’ll find that you’re not losing yourself but are losing your anxiety.
10. Be Scent-Sational. Because smell has a powerful effect on the brain, aromatherapy has a positive effect on mental health. Identify pleasing scents that relax you, such as lavender or chamomile, and surround yourself with them wherever you are. Choose from a vast array of available products such as essential oils, candles, pillows, room scents, and more.

At the end of this challenge, step back and evaluate yourself and your anxiety. Which techniques made it better? How did you make the undulating mass of goo shrink? Eliminate what didn’t work, and do more of what did (To Reduce Anxiety, Do More of What Works). It takes more than 10 days to fully reduce anxiety, but taking on a challenge to reduce anxiety, and doing little things every single day, will ultimately free you from anxiety’s sticky stronghold.

Let's connect. I blog here. Find me on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Pinterest. My mental health novels, including one about severe anxiety, are here.