ANXIETY

COPING WITH ANXIETY

A workbook designed to help

you manage your anxiety

N O U R IS H PL A N NE R S © F I ND M O R E P A G E S L I KE T H IS H E R E : NO UR IS H PL A NN E R S .E T S Y .CO M
Anxiety Relief
Obsessive worry keeps us stuck in our minds, not
allowing us to enjoy our lives. And although it is not
easy to escape this harmful behavior, that can lead to
high levels of anxiety, there are several strategies
that can help. Try each strategy and find out which
ones make a difference in your life.
 BEING PRESENT
Anxiety comes from having our minds traveling in the past or in a possible future. Therefore,
bringing our minds to the present moment is the best way to calm ourselves down. Focus your
attention on your breath and notice that you have no choice but to be in the present moment.
Now, look around you. Being in the present moment arises gratitude spontaneously. So, take
some time to write down all the things and people you are grateful for. You can do this anytime
and anywhere to bring yourself back to the present moment.
 CONNECTING WITH MY SOUL
Taking time to connect and nourish our soul improves our overall wellbeing. This is even more
important when we are feeling anxious because it can help us shift to a calmer and happier
state of mind. Write down all the activities that help you connect with your soul and use this
list as a roadmap to help shift your focus in moments of anxiety. Check the inspiration board
in the next page for ideas.

ACTIVITIES I LOVE DOING AT HOME ACTIVITIES I LOVE DOING OUTSIDE

ACTIVITIES I LOVE DOING WITH OTHERS ACTIVITIES I 'M EXCITED TO TRY

 INSPIRATION BOARD

BUY YOURSELF CRAFT GO TO A COLOR A DO SOME

FLOWERS SOMETHING MUSEUM MANDALA GARDENING

HAVE A
LISTEN TO PAINT LISTEN TO A
MEDITATE HOMEMADE
MUSIC YOUR NAILS PODCAST
SPA SESSION

TAKE PHOTOS
WRITE OR WALK IN COOK
MAKE ORIGAMI OF INSPIRING
READ POETRY NATURE SOMETHING
THINGS

DO
SOMETHING WRITE IN PLAY A SPORT VOLUNTEER PLAY
YOU LOVED YOUR JOURNAL OR DO YOGA LOCALLY WITH A PET
AS A KID

WRITE DOWN MAKE A

WATCH A TAKE A LONG READ A
MOTIVATIONAL GRATITUDE
TED TALK HOT BATH BOOK
QUOTES LIST

LEARN TO CLEAN OUT DO A

TAKE A LONG
PLAY AN A JUNK HAVE A PICNIC CROSSWORD
DEEP BREATH
INSTRUMENT DRAWER PUZZLE

EXPLORE WATCH YOUR DANCE LIKE WRITE A CUTE

SOMEWHERE WALK A DOG FAVORITE NOBODY IS NOTE TO A
NEW MOVIE WATCHING FRIEND

CREATE DRAW OR CREATE A DECLUTTER

DO A PUZZLE
ARTWORK DOODLE NEW PLAYLIST YOUR HOUSE
 MY SURVIVAL PLAN
Coming up with a survival plan for the worst-case scenario can, by itself, calm our anxiety. Ask
yourself what's the worst that could happen regarding each worry that you have at the
moment and what you would do if in fact each of these scenarios became a reality. You know
that it is very unlikely that these scenarios will come true, but if that happens you already have
a plan and that brings peace of mind even if it is not the ideal scenario.

THE WORST THAT COULD HAPPEN MY SURVIVAL PLAN

 ACTS OF COURAGE
Remember all those times when you faced your anxiety and got through it? Write them down!
Describe how hard and scary were those situations and what helped you stay strong back then.
Acknowledging these experiences will help you develop confidence in yourself. Plus, you may
find that you can use the same strategies to deal with future situations.
 EMOTIONAL SUPPORT
Sometimes all we need is someone to listen to us or help us get distracted. Create an emotional
support list with your special people. Write their name and why they're on this list. Are they
good at advice? Comforting? Listening? Distracting? This will be your support system to reach
out in those moments. If you are struggling but you don't know what to say, check in the next
page 8 ways to reach out.

SPECIAL PERSON WHY IT IS ON THIS LIST

 8 WAYS TO REACH OUT

“I' M S TR U GGL IN G W ITH

“I' M S TR U GGLING WITH ANX IETY , ANXIETY AND WHAT I’V E B EEN
B U T I' M N O T R EADY TO TAL K TR Y IN G IS N ' T WO R KIN G. C AN WE
AB O U T IT. C AN Y O U HELP ME (MEET U P/S KY PE/ ETC ) O N (DAT E)
DIS TR AC T MY S ELF?” AN D C O ME U P WITH
A B ETTER PLAN ?”

“I' M N O T S U R E WHAT TO AS K FO R , “I' M HAV IN G A HAR D TIME TAK IN G

B U T I DO N ' T WAN T TO B E ALO N E C AR E O F M Y S ELF. I N E ED EXTR A
R IGHT N O W. C AN Y O U C O ME S U PPO R T R IGHT N O W AR O U N D
O V ER ?” (TAS K). C AN Y O U HELP?”

“I' V E B E EN FE ELING S O LO W “I' M S TR U GGLING R IGHT NO W AN D

LATELY . DO Y O U WAN T TO GO O U T I N EE D TO TAL K TO S O MEO N E. C AN
AN D DO S O METHIN G FU N ?” I GIV E Y O U A C ALL TO N IGHT? ”

“I KN O W W E DO N ' T TAL K MU C H,
“I' M S TR U GGLIN G WITH AN X IETY
B U T I' M GO IN G THR O U GH A TO U GH
R IGHT N O W. C AN Y O U S TAY O N THE
TIME AN D I FEEL LIK E Y O U ' R E
PHO N E WITH ME/C O ME O V ER
S O MEO N E I C AN TR U S T. AR E Y O U
U N TIL I F E EL B ETT ER ?”
FR EE TO TALK (DAY /TIM E)?”
Be Prepared
We all have worry patterns and by discovering yours
you can better prepare yourself to handle these
anxiety-generating situations. Defining anchor
thoughts for each pattern is extremely helpful. They
calm us down and help us shift our mindset
preventing our worries from evolving to high levels of
anxiety.
 WORRY PATTERNS
Discover your worry patterns by observing your daily worries. For a whole day log all the
worries that you had and pay attention to what triggered each worry. Where were you? Who
were you with? What happened? Then, write down your worry patterns. If you can't yet
identify them, repeat this exercise for a few more days.

MY WORRY PATTERNS  I ALWAYS WORRY WHEN  I WORRY EVERY TIME THAT

 MINDSET SHIFT
Now that you have identified your worry patterns it's time to create anchor thoughts. To be
effective they need to be related with what you are doing. It can be a happy memory from the
past or an exciting thought about something that is going to happen soon. Check the example
below and write possible anchor thoughts for each of your worry patterns.

WORRY PATTERN ANCHOR THOUGHT

I worry every time My anchor thought will be about something exciting that
I need to take a flight because I will find at my destination. If I’m flying to visit my newborn
I’m afraid that the plane nephew, I’ll imagine the cute baby noises he will do,
will crash how big the smile of my sister will be…
Keep a Journal
Journaling helps us work through our anxious feelings
and improves our mental health. It helps us to
organize our thoughts, identify the cause of our
anxiety, and create a plan to resolve the situation.
Here is a journal that you can pick up at any time to
work through a specific worry.
 WORRY JOURNAL
1. WHAT AM I WORRIED ABOUT?

2. WILL WORRY ABOUT THIS HELP ME SOLVE THE SITUATION?

3. CAN I DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT?

In anxious moments this is the best question you can ask yourself. If your answer is YES, write down
what you can do about it and get the work done. And if your answer is NO, think about it. Is there
any reason to worry about something you cannot change?

I CAN DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT I CAN'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT

4. WHAT IS THE WORST -CASE SCENARIO THAT COULD HAPPEN?

5. WHAT COULD I DO IF THE WORST-CASE SCENARIO HAPPENED?

6. WHAT CAN I DO NOW TO FEEL BETTER?

Track Your Journey
Here is a chart to help you track your journey. By
tracking your mood and anxiety levels on a daily basis
you will have a clear view of your progress. It also
includes a notes section where you can write down
important details that help you understand why you
felt that way on that day.
 MY JOURNEY
MO N TH

MOOD ANXIETY NOTES

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31
Challenge Yourself
Here are 5 challenges that were designed to help you
reduce your anxiety levels and therefore improve
your mental wellness and overall wellbeing. Don't
worry, you don't need to do them all at once, choose
just one to start.
 5 ANXIETY RELIEF CHALLENGES

DO SOMETHING YOU LOVE

1 Often, anxiety builds up when we don't get a chance to detox from life's
problems. For one week, take at least 10 minutes a day to do something that
brings you peace. You can take ideas from the exercise ‘connecting with my soul’.

CULTIVATE COMPASSION
For a week, whenever someone's behavior arouses anxiety or anger in you,
remind yourself that you don't know their story and hope that those people will

2 have the strength to overcome whatever is going on. We may think that we know
why people act the way they act, but we never clearly know the battle that each
person is facing. And the best we can do is to cultivate compassion. It reduces
our levels of stress and improves our mental wellness.

WRITE A LETTER

3 Write letters to those who are still upsetting you. Be honest and raw in each
letter but never send them. They don't need to read them but writing them is
extremely healing for you.

STOP FOLLOWING
Scroll down through your social media platforms and pay attention to which

4 posts trigger worry and anxiety in you. Your challenge is to unfollow who shared
those posts, even if temporarily, so you can see the positive impact in your life.
Social media platforms should inspire, teach and entertain us instead of making
us feel bad about ourselves.

KEEP A THOUGHTS JOURNAL

Your challenge is simply to journal about your thoughts before bed for a whole

5 week. Just write the thoughts that arise in your mind and resist any urge to self-
censor. Let the words flow, be raw and don't worry about spelling and
punctuation. Freewriting makes us feel centered and improves immensely the
quality of our sleep.