One Way I Deal With Anxiety

How are you staying healthy these days? I realized something a few years ago, something that escapes me on occasion; my body needs movement to keep my mind healthy. This seems easy as a New Yorker–I am constantly on the go–but my mind needs more. A good portion of this is due to my anxiety, something I have struggled with since I can remember, and only had grown in size after I had a late-term miscarriage a few years ago. In part of my ongoing healing journey, I’ve become an expert (of sorts) with what my body needs to remain in-sync:therapy, activity, quiet, fresh air, music, love, and rest. It sounds simple, but in the day to day, it can be difficult to check those things off of our lists, especially when you are feeling overwhelmed with anxiety.

Every morning I imagine a list that is in the forefront of my brain, and at the closing of each day I make sure my list has everything checked off. Therapy can mean my therapist (I highly recommend seeing someone regularly), or speaking with a good friend about something close to my heart–trusting her with the deepest secret of myself and allowing it to be released. I have one rule for activity; I have to push myself. Recently, I started working out a few times a week with a personal trainer. That’s why I was excited to try Withings and their Activité Steel watch, that keeps track of some of the things my mind needs to remain balanced and healthy.

I realized a long time ago that everyone had their own version of healthy and of course, working out. While I think it’s grand, I advocate that we must heal our minds first (or actively try), and everything will then fall into place. For me, that has been an eye-opening revelation. I’ve tried services like this in the past, hoping to stay the course, but nothing ever really stuck. I think what makes me so eager and newly loyal to my Activité steel watch; it doesn’t feel like I am tied to anything. It’s light and comfortable, and doesn’t vibrate and distract me throughout the day. It seemlessly tracks my activity, rest (so important), and whatever else I want, Via the Health Mate App, without making me feel as though I am tracking. And if you happen to need a physical list, I believe the app is a fantastic partner in the course, the passenger driver if you will.

So much of my anxiety dealing is finding the trigger. I know that when I don’t sleep, my anxiety is louder than it was the day before. Of course I can assume that’s why, but having a tracker that holds me to my sleep goals and helps me source when I don’t reach them, has been more progressive.

As I have made my journey through anxiety, I’ve been thinking a lot about this discussion in particular in this space. I am happy to introduce products or share tips and tricks of my very own, that make it easier for all of us to focus on that wellness. There are so many different faces of anxiety. Are you having this discussion amongst your peers?

P.S 40 Ways to deal with anxiety.

A big thank you to Withings for sponsoring this post and helping me feel a little more at ease about opening up the discussion. If you’d like to try your own Withings product (blood pressure monitors, Go, scales, etc) sign up for my newsletter (to the right), as they are offering a special treat to my lucky readers on Friday!