We have interviewed 70 people who have struggled with anxiety. These stories are full of tips on how to overcome anxiety.
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I’ve interviewed 70 people struggling with anxiety, and here are the top 5 most mentioned tips that helped these people overcome anxiety:
In our many years of publishing helpful mental health content, we always received questions from our readers about specific situations. While we have a lot of helpful tips to share on how to be happier, we simply can’t offer advice for every situation.
That’s why I’ve set out to interview folks with every type of mental health struggle. My job as an interviewer is to categorize these interviews and present them in a way that is most helpful to our readers.
“I can’t begin to explain the depth of hatred I had for myself. I was working 80, sometimes 100 hours a week with overtime and I still couldn’t make it. Why? I had no friends. Why? I had zero prospects of a relationship and felt zero love from anyone. Why? I hated myself.”
Struggled with:
ADHD
Anxiety
Depression
“Considering the duration of my struggle, anxiety, and depression have been constants in my life. Over the years, I had tried numerous medications and visited countless therapists, but nothing seemed to offer lasting relief. It wasn’t until I discovered these resources, particularly the “DARE” book, that I finally started to see a glimmer of hope and progress toward overcoming my challenges.”
Struggled with:
Anxiety
Childhood
Depression
Panic attacks
Helped by:
Self-Care
Self-improvement
Therapy
“At 19 years old I had lost all of my independence, I was unable to work, and I couldn’t even make a meal for myself 90% of the time. At this time I was also diagnosed with OCD. I turned 20 completely alone, I couldn’t even leave my room to have happy birthday sung to me.”
Helped by:
Medication
Music
Self-improvement
Therapy
“Healing just doesn’t come without suffering. When I failed for the first time academically, it hurt. I cried… a lot. And was down for a while until I felt I needed to know myself better. I started meditating and thinking about who I am. What’s my purpose? What am I doing with my life?”
Helped by:
Meditation
Religion
Self-improvement
“It’s hard to feel happy when it’s your own head calling you a failure. Since then I’ve been researching ways to help me feel better, and improve in all aspects of life. I know my journey is not complete, but when you’ve been dealing with all of this stuff since you were five, you tend to pick things up.”
“It was the scariest thing I’ve ever experienced because none of it made sense at the time. I didn’t even know I was going through a mental health crisis – I genuinely just thought my relationship was about to end.”
“The best thing my divorced parents ever did for ~9-year-old me was send me to weekly therapy sessions which I’ve kept up most of my life (minus ~2 years in high school). Thanks to growing up with a profound mental health awareness, I promised myself that I was going to commit to a healthier lifestyle by focusing on my emotional well-being first and foremost. Deep inside me, I knew that was how I’d improve everything else.”
“My worst moment was when my husband found me sobbing on the closet floor after I had just come home from work. My boss wanted me to work on something I had no idea how to do or any interest in doing. I already felt stupid and trying to work with a coworker on this project was only going to make me feel worse about myself.”
Struggled with:
Anxiety
Eating disorder
Helped by:
Medication
Self-improvement
Therapy
“I tried to keep a smile on my face and pretend all was great, but deep inside, I had this sadness, bitterness, and anger. I was in denial that something was wrong, and in my mind, if I admitted it, it would confirm what I knew all along. That I was a failure at being a mom. I even compared myself with other moms. Imagine that! I tried to hide it from the world.”
Struggled with:
Anxiety
Postpartum depression
Suicidal
Helped by:
Reinventing yourself
Self-improvement
“Wondering why you are different and why you can’t do or struggle with certain aspects of life, is an uphill battle. We have to accept that we are different. Decide how you are different and deal with that. How are you different from others? What do you struggle with? Are there any adaptations you can make to make things easier – even if it is not considered the norm?”
Helped by:
Self-acceptance
