How to Cope with Anxiety If You Can't Attend Therapy Immediately
Therapy is amazing and I think everyone can benefit from it at some point in their lives (says the therapist 😉), but it’s not always immediately available.
Getting up the courage to reach out to a therapist is not easy, so first, I want to take a moment to acknowledge that and acknowledge you for wanting to start (or restart) your therapy journey.
It can be so challenging when you finally do reach out, only to face a barrier to receiving the treatment you want and deserve. In current times, this is an especially prevalent issue with long waitlists more common than ever. Whether it’s due to the waitlists, lack of insurance, finances, or some other reason, you may not be in therapy, even when you want to be.
Now, this might leave you feeling frustrated and anxious, so what can you do about it? How can you cope while you wait to start therapy?
Listed below are some ideas to help cope that can be helpful before, during, and after attending therapy.
Mindfulness
Mindfulness is a way of being in the present, which is often difficult to do when you are experiencing anxiety. Being mindful means “to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we’re doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going on around us”.*
There are many different ways to practice mindfulness. You can do so through meditation, various grounding techniques, and integrating mindfulness into everyday activities like eating, walking, and art.
Mindfulness is a great coping strategy to start using, even before attending therapy, because it is easily accessible. You can use one of the strategies mentioned above to help utilize it on a daily basis. You can also download a mindfulness app on your phone to help you learn and practice these skills. Headspace, Smiling Mind, and Insight Timer are a few (of the many) good mindfulness apps available.
Exercise
Exercise and other physical movement are great ways to cope with anxiety. This method of coping can be especially helpful if you are experiencing physical anxiety symptoms, such as racing heart rate, muscle tension, shaking, and sweating. Physical movement helps release muscle tension and other signs and symptoms of stress and anxiety.
Yoga can be a great option to help you get in touch with your body, which can help regulate anxiety symptoms and help you better understand that the body sensations you feel are anxiety related and will pass soon.
It’s important to take care of your body in other ways, too, including eating balanced meals throughout the day, drinking enough water daily, and getting enough sleep (see below). Your well-being, including anxiety levels, is impacted by how well your body is feeling and functioning overall.
Get Enough Sleep
Sleep is important for a wide variety of mental, emotional, and physical health reasons. The typical guidance is for adults to receive 7-8 hours of sleep every night.
Difficulty falling or staying asleep can be related to anxiety, so it can also be helpful to have a consistent sleep routine. This can look like going to sleep and waking up at the same time each day, doing a relaxing activity for 30 minutes to one hour before going to sleep, and not using your phone for one hour before going to sleep or after waking up. I know that last one is not easy. However, using your phone (or other technology) too close to going to sleep or waking up wreaks havoc on your circadian rhythm.
Be Kind to Yourself
Negative self-talk is also common for those who experience anxiety. You might have a mean, inner critical voice that tells you there’s something wrong with you when you feel anxious (among a wide variety of other negative self-talk thoughts). That voice is lying. There’s nothing wrong with you! Anxiety is a very normal emotion. Sometimes it gets severe and you may need help learning how to manage it, but anxiety itself is not bad or wrong and you are not bad or wrong for experiencing it.
Tell that voice to “Shut up!” when you need to. Try to catch the negative thoughts, so that you can try to stop and challenge or reframe them.
Practicing self-compassion is one of my favorite skills to continuing learning for myself and to share with others. Learning how to be self-compassionate can help reduce anxiety and stress levels, and there are a number of different ways to learn self-compassion. A great place to start is with the exercises on self-compassion.org or by reading Kristin Neff’s book Self-Compassion.
Anxiety can feel overwhelming and debilitating at times, and it can be so frustrating to face any barrier to attending therapy. There are many helpful coping skills to use outside of therapy to manage anxiety levels. These skills are helpful to use before your therapy journey begins, during that journey, and after it ends. Using some (or all) of the suggestions in this blog will hopefully help you cope with the anxiety you are experiencing while you wait to meet with a therapist.
*https://www.mindful.org/what-is-mindfulness/