Hi Lauren,

I suffered from anxiety ever since I was a young child. My parents used to always joke that I was born with a worried look on my face. I had anxiety about being around groups of people and driving mainly, but there were other smaller ones too. I found that two things have helped me. I’m going to second what Spidey said about mindfulness. Taking a deep breath and paying attention to what is happening now really helped me. My anxiety happened because I was getting all wrapped up in my mind and a future of terrible things that hadn’t even happened and probably wouldn’t happen. Breathing, getting out of my head and paying attention to what was going on around me in the now really helped.

I also started meditating daily. I don’t know if you’ve ever tried meditation, but it can be very helpful. I just sit in a quiet room and focus on my breathing for 20 minutes in the morning and 20 minutes in the evening. I’ve found a tremendous improvement in my anxiety problems when I started doing that. Start with just 10 minutes a day and as you feel comfortable with it move up to more time. It is more helpful if you meditate daily for just a short time than if you meditate once a week for a long time.

I’ve also found that avoiding the activity that is causing my anxiety only makes my anxiety worse. So I challenge myself. I go to a party with the goal of staying for only an hour. The whole time I’m there I focus on what’s on around me and remember to breathe deeply.

I hope these suggestions help.