Top 7 Calming & Stress-Relieving Hobbies To Help Combat Anxiety (Unique Method)!
Last Updated on 12/30/2022 by Nicky
Top 7 Calming & Stress-Relieving Hobbies To Help Combat Anxiety
Have you ever lived with something so long that you begin to think it’s normal?
Then you get a clue and you’re like wait I’m not meant to live like this!
I had that realization this week about anxiety.
Although I’ve overcome depression completely and given anxiety more than a few punches, I still am not completely free and I’m guessing you’re not either.
I guess I thought hey as long as my anxiety isn’t paralyzing like it was before then it’s ok to have some anxiety.
But why though?
The goal should be to beat anxiety in the face and win the fight, not settle for being less anxious.
There’s a reason why Jesus said don’t worry over and over again.
He doesn’t want us to use precious brain cells and time worrying when we could be praying to the Father and getting real results.
So in today’s post, I’m going to talk about some stress-reducing hobbies and tips to start beating stress for good.
These are some of the ways that I’ve used to help me at least get a strong grip on anxiety.
But first I’m going to tell you HOW to use these tips because that’s equally as important.
Oh yeah, and this post contains affiliate links to great products that will help you in your health journey. I will get a commission if you decide to buy from these links but I’m only recommending products that I feel confident about.
The Stacking Method Of Reducing Stress
So one of the reasons we can’t shake anxiety is because we don’t employ all the ideas and resources available to us.
Like we might try one or two tips and be like yeah I can’t get rid of stress so I give up.
But think of anxiety like a fire raging out of control (because it kinda is a fire in your mind constantly burning).
If it was a real physical fire would you just spray water on it from a little garden hose for 2 minutes and then say well the fire didn’t go out, I’ve done all I could do?
No!
You would get professional help (firefighters) and in the meantime, you would use fire extinguishers, stop drop and roll, the garden hose, ladders, and whatever else you could get your hands on to put the fire out, right?
Well, I want you to do the same for the stress you are under and the anxiety it causes you.
Let’s put this fire out by using every available resource until it’s gone, you feel me?
I call this the stacking method.
This simply means that you don’t just try one tip one time and then quit.
You try multiple tips and methods at the same time over and over until we kick this anxiety out of our lives for good.
I’ll be explaining more as we go along.
7 Calming Techniques For Coping With Stress & Anxiety
1)Break your day into small chunks
You might be thinking ummm ok what does this even mean and how will it help?
Anxiety is usually when we are worried about something that hasn’t happened yet right?
So this tip is saying be present in the moment.
I’m not saying don’t think about the future but you and I know this is far more than us just thinking about the future.
We are ruminating and catastrophizing the future (Source).
Instead, count your blessings in your current moment.
Only worry about the small amount of time in front of you.
If you’re sitting in a meeting at 9:00 AM, there’s no reason to worry about how you’re going to pay the electric bill or what you’re going to have for dinner unless you are taking action to solve the thing you’re anxious about and not merely just freaking out about it.
Take the day one minute at a time and keep your attention on that minute.
2)Find an anti-anxiety scripture, memorize it and meditate on it
Choose a scripture from the Bible that you can grab onto in your mind when you start to feel anxious that you can repeat it to yourself.
You’ll eventually start to believe it and you’ll block any negative self-talk.
Here are some scripture ideas to start off with: 31 Life-Changing Scriptures For Overcoming Fear (A Bible Reading Plan For Anxiety)
Now think back to the first tip.
How could you use this tip with tip number one?
When you are starting to feel anxious and you want to be present in the moment, you can use one of the scriptures in that blog post I linked to above to help you do that.
One that comes to mind is in Matthew 10:31 when Jesus says even the sparrow is taken care of and He’ll take care of you too.
See how we are starting to stack these tips together and build on them?
3)Walk & Workout For Some Stress Relief
The quickest way to reduce anxiety is to exercise enough to sweat.
A casual walk is better than nothing, but to get the greatest benefit, it’s necessary to get your heart beating hard.
And don’t think of boring exercises.
Try and find one that you like!
For example, I love to dance and it’s easy for me to get my heart rate up when I do it.
But I don’t want to stop because it’s so much fun!
Plus, music is another good way to relieve anxiety so put on some music and start dancing or walking or doing whatever workout you’ve chosen to do.
But exercise, in general, has been proven to help you overcome anxiety. (Source)
And walking, in particular, is great for lowering your anxiety and stress levels so I highly recommend it! (Mind-Body-Green)
So you’ll start a workout regimen in addition to doing the first 2 tips.
What we’re trying to do is interrupt those toxic thought patterns.
Keep interrupting them until they disappear!
4) Make use of distractions.
Distractions never solve the underlying issue but can provide relief.
You can watch a movie (which I do sometimes when I’m doing a walking workout), read a good book, or play a game with your family or on your phone.
Spend time with a close friend.
Get creative with adult coloring books, journaling, or knitting.
Give yourself a break and put your focus elsewhere because again we are learning how to interrupt those thought patterns.
Take action.
Anxiety happens because some part of your brain is trying to stop you from taking action so you have to find a way to get started on whatever it is that’s making you anxious.
I don’t know what it is you’re anxious about.
I personally used to be anxious about starting this blog!
I can’t believe it now but I was so tied up in knots about it and yet I felt like God was calling me to start it so I couldn’t just ignore it.
But I also couldn’t take action on it either.
So I was just anxious all the time about it.
The fire was out of control making the blog a way bigger deal than it had to be.
And I know why I didn’t want to do it… because I didn’t want to be vulnerable and I knew I would have to share stuff that I didn’t want people to know like how I suffered from depression and had anxiety.
I wanted people to think I had it all together when I so did not.
I just hid it well.
So I put it off for years and you know the only thing that helped me get over the anxiety?
Taking action and actually starting the blog.
In fact, my first post was about procrastination which you can read here.
So you’ve got to take action on the thing that has got you worrying yourself to death or it’ll drive you nuts.
You see your mind has learned that it can control you by making you feel miserable.
You can minimize the anxiety you feel by doing what you know needs to be done.
Your brain will learn that making you feel anxious doesn’t work and is not the boss of you.
5) Write in your worry journal for 20 minutes each day
Yes I know it sounds crazy but I want y’all to schedule your worry time.
You’ll find yourself less inclined to worry during the other 23-plus hours of the day.
This is how it works.
Create some sort of digital notebook like in Evernote or a real one that you have with you all the time.
This is now your worry journal (Source).
Whenever you feel like you’re about to be anxious about something, write it in the journal, and then when your scheduled time to worry comes up you can worry about it like there’s no tomorrow.
The thing is, many times you’ll look at the list and be like, why was I anxious about that?
Then you’ll just move on.
But if you are still anxious about it instead of just worrying, pray about it according to Phillipians 4:6: Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
6) Change your environment
Another idea is to get out of your current environment and give yourself a change of scenery.
Go to the park or spend some time at the coffee shop.
Spending time outside in nature and getting some fresh air is a well-known stress reliever (Source).
Spend an hour window shopping.
Shake things up a bit.
Sometimes just seeing a new place can lift your spirit.
7) Use Online Therapy
I always add this anxiety-reducing tip because while all of these methods are good on their own, I know from personal experience that talking to a professional made the biggest difference with me (Source).
But the great thing is you don’t have to go to an actual office to get help if you don’t want to, a therapist is too far away, or you don’t want to show your face at the office.
You can try online therapy.
The one I’ve used is online therapy.com.
I know I wouldn’t be writing to you today if I hadn’t made that first step all those years ago to try it.
I was anxious about doing it of course because I wasn’t into all that “sharing your feelings with a stranger” or anyone type stuff.
But you don’t grow if you don’t challenge yourself and I knew I needed to grow emotionally and mentally as an adult woman or I would not get anywhere in life.
I can’t even tell you how different I am since I first signed up for online therapy.com.
I was reflecting on it just now and I think about the emotional roller coaster I was constantly on then.
I was moody, I could cry at any moment, I got angry and irritated easily, and my stomach was constantly in knots.
Ugh-a-rama!
Just thinking about being like that again makes me shudder.
Tools available at online-therapy.com
Now, after taking a chance with online-therapy.com, I’m so much more joyous, grateful for my life, ready to do new things, and not scared about everything.
I’m no longer depressed like I mentioned, which is just amazing because I used to not even want to get out of bed (and sometimes didn’t for a long time).
Now I’ll get up as early as 3:45 am to work on my business because I have a purpose and passion in life that I didn’t have before.
I thank God for presenting online-therapy.com to me and using it to help me to start living my purpose.
Not a Christian?
Online-therapy.com is not a faith-based platform and can be used by anyone of any faith.
I just always give glory to my Creator for how far He has brought me and He definitely used online therapy to help bring me through some really rough times.
Online therapy dashboard
So it all depends on how badly you want to change.
Are you happy with your current level of mental health or are you ready to take action and make some changes today?
You can actually create a free account and start using some of their services today.
Then you can upgrade and begin talking to a therapist once you’re ready to take your mental health to the next level.
Click here to see what online-therapy.com has to offer and create your free account today
Which Stress Busting Hobbies Will You Try?
I know that if you are reading this then anxiety is something that plagues you and you are wanting to find relief from it.
You want to find peace of mind but the worry, stress, and anxiety has got you in a whirlwind.
I don’t want you living like that, you don’t want you living like, Jesus doesn’t want you living like that.
It’s just not the abundant life He promised us. Please start using some of these tips, especially activity #7 (online therapy) and you’ll start to see changes in your mindset.
It won’t happen overnight but if you keep going, I believe you will see major results.
Do you believe it?
TL;DR?
Give your mind and body a break by minimizing your anxiety.
Avoid the belief that you just have to suffer with the discomfort of anxiety.
Do everything you can to find relief without making your challenges worse.
If you’re unable to find a suitable solution, get help from a professional.
Do You Want More Help In Your Battle Against Anxiety? Check out our free Renew Your Mind Journaling Bundle!
Do You Want More Help In Your Battle Against Anxiety? Check out our free Renew Your Mind Journaling Bundle!
We all know how important it is to set aside time for relaxation & self-care. Our mental health depends on it! So if you’re looking for a relaxing escape from the anxieties & stresses of the crazy world we live in then enter your email to access our Renew Your Mind Mental Health Journaling Bundle!
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If 7 Anxiety-Reducing Tips That You’ll Actually Love has helped you, please share it on social media!
More HAYC Posts About Mental & Emotional Health
How To Read The Bible To Overcome Anxiety
5 Life Changing Quotes From Jesus To Overcome Anxiety
5 Genius Ways Proverbs 31 Teaches Christian Women To Be Healthy
25 Powerful Signs Of An Emotionally Healthy Woman
Medical Disclaimer: While Healthy As You Can strives to provide the most accurate information, anything you read on this site is purely for informational or entertainment purposes and should NOT be considered medical advice or as a replacement for a doctor’s care, diagnosis, appointment, advice, etc. I am not a medical professional at all. Any information, tips, or ideas that you try as a result of reading this blog is tried at your, the reader’s, own risk.
Mental Health Disclaimer: While I care deeply about your mental health, please know that I am NOT a licensed medical professional, therapist, counselor, social worker, or mental health professional. Any advice here is not to be taken as medical advice or a diagnosis. IF you need to talk to a licensed mental health professional you can use online-therapy.com (affiliate link) or call a mental health hotline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
