00:00I get very hot, super tingly, and start to talk a lot, kind of as I am now.
00:04I have shortness of breath, and I start crying.
00:07My heart starts racing.
00:09I shake a lot, I stutter, I sweat, which is really cute.
00:13Hi everyone, I'm Corinne Fox and I'm an ambassador for NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental
00:18Illness, and today we are talking about managing your anxiety.
00:22And everybody has anxiety from a varying degree, from a little bit to a lot.
00:26Specific things, like driving over bridges, and highway driving, and like, subway tunnels.
00:32My thoughts run like a million miles an hour, and I get kind of like annoyed by everything
00:37that's happening.
00:38I kind of take situations and spread them open, kind of like spider webs, and seeing all
00:44of the possibilities of what could go right, what could go wrong.
00:47I've suffered from anxiety for the past nine years, since I was 14 years old, and I realized
00:52that I had sweaty palms a lot, and my heart was beating really fast in class, and I didn't
00:57really know what that was.
00:58I realized that this was something that was serious, I needed to get checked out, I needed
01:02to talk to somebody, and it's given me the tools to find out what works for me.
01:07To calm myself down, I really try and ground myself in my surroundings, look around, remember
01:12who I'm with, and where I am.
01:15Half the time I'm not paying attention to what other people are paying attention to, and sometimes
01:19I can be way more observant than I really need to, and I just need to cut myself a break.
01:26Try to slow your heart rate down by taking long, controlled breaths, and try sitting up
01:31straight, as it'll relieve some of the physical discomfort of anxiety and help facilitate those
01:35deep breaths.
01:36So another way to help manage stress and anxiety when you feel it bubbling up is to have a little
01:42object in your purse, in your back pocket that you can carry around and kind of grab and
01:47play with when you feel those thoughts, you're getting into your head, and you want to stay
01:52in the present moment, so something like this.
01:55My biggest coping mechanism is my two dogs, I bring them everywhere with me, even the office,
02:00and they completely ground me.
02:01One of my favorite ways to manage my symptoms of anxiety is to meditate, and I know it sounds
02:06intimidating, but you can meditate wherever, whenever.
02:10So here's a quick five minute meditation that you can use when you feel your symptoms of stress
02:14and anxiety.
02:15First, you're going to find yourself a comfortable position, either in a chair or seated on the
02:19ground, wherever you can be comfortable and not think about how you're sitting.
02:23And then we're going to start with some deep breaths.
02:26Eyes open, in for six seconds.
02:31Out for seven seconds.
02:36So after a few deep breaths, we're going to gently close our eyes and let our breathing
02:40return back to normal, and then we're going to just start noticing all of the sounds in
02:46the room.
02:46This is how we practice mindfulness.
02:49Don't judge the sounds, just listen.
02:52Now we're going to focus on your body in the room.
02:55We're going to focus on your feet touching the floor, your butt touching the chair or the
03:02ground, the weight of your body, gravity pushing down on it.
03:08Just be aware of what's happening to your body, and just keep your hands rested on your knees
03:14or by your side.
03:16Just keep them open and light, don't think about their placement too much.
03:20And right before we open our eyes, we're going to take a quick second to express gratitude
03:26that you took a time for yourself, a moment out of your day, practice self-care.
03:32Just be grateful for five seconds.
03:36And then after that, slowly open your eyes, take a deep breath, and that is meditation.
03:46Super easy.
03:47Not every method is right for every person, so if you're struggling from anxiety or depression,
03:52please reach out to a mental health professional to find the right treatment plan for you.
03:56Thank you so much for watching, guys.
03:58I hope this was helpful, please visit NAMI.org for more information.
