My Anxiety Toolbox: 7 Tips to Help with Anxiety - Two Empty Passports Two Empty Passports

Gavin and Robyn looking out onto Halong Bay. Talking to someone and a psychologist are some of the best strategies to manage anxiety.

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Living with chronic pain and fibromyalgia for 20 years, I have collected quite an array of tools and coping strategies to help relieve my pain and fatigue.

So, when I was told I had anxiety, I knew I needed effective tools and techniques to help get me through the tough times.

Suffering from anxiety incidents alone and being afraid… sucked. I needed to take care of my mental health and prioritize myself.

Robyn in a rooftop pool in Tulum, Mexico. Relax and taking care of your mental health.

This meant I was willing to try anything and everything to help ease my newly anxious mind.

Now, I am not an expert in anxiety, nor a doctor of any kind.

But I think it is important to share the tools that have worked to calm my anxiety, in the hopes that maybe it will help you too.

And to remind yourself that you are not alone in this battle.

Here is my anxiety toolbox, including 7 tips to help manage anxiety. Hope this collection of items and techniques that I find effective help you when anxiety starts to pound at your door.

Let’s do this…

7 Tips to Help with Anxiety

1. Weighted Blanket

Bedroom with a large window. Bed has a weighted blanket on top, one strategy included in my anxiety toolbox.

My amazing massage therapist has used a weighted blanket for years and recommended I investigate its benefits for my anxiety. So, that’s what I did.

I found a few studies that showed the use of weighted blankets can be very beneficial in calming the nervous system when feelings of anxiety arise.

According to the Journal of Integrated Medicine, weighted blankets provide deep pressure stimulation which affects the nervous system, and produces a calming effect.

When I had my first anxiety attack in Greece, I put a pillow on my chest and Gavin added some light pressure. This helped me feel safer at the moment, which helped to dissipate my anxious feelings.

So, it only made sense that a weighted blanket could do the same.

I read that the Sleep Foundation recommends using a weighted blanket that is approximately 10% of your body weight. So, my hunt began.

I purchased the 12 lbs Beautyrest Weighted Blanket and I LOVE IT! It is the perfect weight/pressure for me. It also comes in 18 lbs if you prefer heavier weight.

The blanket is made with fine, soundless micro-glass beads mixed with a soft cotton-like filling, providing extra cushioning. The mink cover is hypoallergenic, super soft, removable, and washable too.

Popular Weighted Blankets

Gravity Cooling Weighted Blanket: This cooling blanket is made with fine glass beads and has a removable and washable duvet cover. The inner layer is secured with ties to prevent clumping. It comes in 3 different weights 15, 20, and 35 lbs.

Syrinx Weighted Blanket: This cooling blanket is budget friendly with a quilted design. Perfect for hot sleepers, the breathable cover has great airflow and uses a layered structure to distribute the weight evenly. The downside is that they only offer the 10 lb weight, and it is not machine washable.

2. Essential Oils

Essential oils by Saje Wellness are an excellent tool for managing anxiety.

Years ago, my best friend bought me the Pocket Farmacy from Saje Natural Wellness. It contains 5 essential oil roll-ons to help with overall physical health, everything from headaches, colds, digestion, stress, and of course… pain relief.

Honestly… it is one of the best gifts I have received. So, when my anxiety came knocking, I started using their Stress Release products.

I especially love the roller and bath salts. The Stress Release line of products uses lavender, chamomile, and orange. This combination helps to soothe feelings of anxiety, stress, and nervousness, by inducing deep relaxation and calm.

During my research, I read that lavender creates a calming and relaxing effect by reducing the body’s fight-or-flight response.

And it is this very response that kicks into overdrive during an anxiety or panic attack!

After learning this, and using up the entire small roller, I ordered the Stress Release Duo. This has become one of my best go-to strategies when my anxiety rears its ugly head.

Saje Natural Wellness carries a variety of products for stress and anxiety, including body oil blends, mists, bath salts, oil diffusers, inhalers, body wash, lotion, and a relaxation kit.

3. Dare Response App

The DAR app is one of the best strategies to help with anxiety.

In our digital world, I knew there would be an app or two dedicated to relieving anxiety.

In my search, I stumbled across the DARE app and I am so thankful I did.

Hands down, this is the best coping strategy to manage my anxiety and help me gain back control during my anxiety incidents.

The DARE app helps people overcome anxiety, worry, panic attacks, and insomnia with an evidence-based training program.

They provide useful information and exercises in each category.

Many are included in the free version, but you can purchase an annual membership for access to the locked content.

I have come to rely on the DARE app any time an anxiety incident approaches. The man’s voice, whom I have named Marty because of his Irish accent, is soothing and reassuring.

I know it sounds crazy, but I kind of feel like he has been on this anxiety journey with me.

Reading people’s stories and listening to different exercises, helped me start to see my anxiety in a different light.

This by no way means I was suddenly cured!

However, Marty taught me how to better manage my anxious energy and what I need to do to ride the wave out.

I am slowly learning that I need to embrace my anxiety, rather than fear it.

This app has been incredibly insightful, and helpful and I would recommend it to anyone struggling with their anxiety.

4. Puzzles & Games

Gavin completing a puzzle. Playing a game or working on a puzzle is an excellent strategy for anxiety.

The completed Paris puzzle that I work on what an anxiety attack occurs.

When the world shut down during Covid and we couldn’t travel, Gavin started doing 1000-piece travel-inspired puzzles.

So, we had many lying around the house when anxiety came knocking at my door.

During one of my more intense anxiety incidents, I made myself sit down and try to work on a puzzle. Surprisingly, I was able to calm myself down quicker with this distraction.

Focusing on a different task helped shift my mind off the intense, horrible sensations I was experiencing to something happier.

Completing a travel puzzle also directed my mind towards positive and calming memories, which I think helped lower my anxiety.

Currently, I am working on a 1000-piece Venice puzzle. We prefer the Clementoni Puzzles because they have a wide range of themes, and we love the selection of amazing travel destinations they carry.

5. Meditation & Yoga

My young nephew in a meditation pose on the beach in Italy. Both yoga and meditation are helpful tools to manage anxiety.

The number of doctors I have seen since 2021 has been crazy… no pun intended. But wanting to figure out what was wrong with me, meant I needed to see a lot of doctors.

At some point, one doctor recommended I try meditation as it can help calm the mind, soften anxiety, and reduce stress.

Now, I have been doing yoga for years to help with my chronic pain and fibromyalgia. But I will be the first to admit that I am horrible at the breathing and meditative part of yoga.

Honestly, it is embarrassing.

Nevertheless, I promised myself that I would try anything to help reduce and manage my anxiety, so I downloaded the Soothing Pod app.

They have several categories of meditation, including one for beginners and one for easing anxiety.

Now I am not going to lie and say I love meditation now… but I did like their approach to meditation.

First, they have several meditation sessions that are only 10 minutes long. For me, this was perfect.

I did not have the patience, nor the passion, to sit and meditate for hours on end.

Second, the sessions are not as intense as other styles of meditation I have tried.

And I’m sure this will sound strange… but I also didn’t feel judged completing them. Yes, I was the only one in the room, but even the voice sounded gentle and supportive.

Maybe it was just that I wasn’t judging myself!

Lastly, they include bedtime stories, relaxing music and nature sounds on the app that I found helpful and relaxing.

So, check it out for yourself and let me know what you think!

6. Mental Health Line

A white rope hanging in front of the turquoise water and white sand beach of Cancun.

Now this one was a surprise for me. I had no idea that you could call a Mental Health line for support during a panic attack or anxiety incident.

But apparently, you can… and you should!

Now that I know this, I have called them when my anxiety needs more than just the above coping strategies.

All the people I have spoken to have been extremely kind, patient, and helpful. They will stay on the line with you as long as you need, provide an ear to listen, or distract you with conversation.

Mental Health Hotlines:
Mental Health & Wellness Canada at 1-833-456-4566
Mental Health America at 1-800-273-8255

7. Talk to a Psychologist

Robyn and her dog standing on an empty beach in Mexico.

There is only so much our minds can handle. And after my physical body broke down on me in 2021, it was only a matter of time before my mind followed suit.

In early 2022 it happened again… anxiety was pounding at my door. I knew I couldn’t handle everything on my own anymore.

I needed to ask for help.

Honestly, I am a firm believer in talking with a psychologist. Some so many benefits and revelations can come from sharing the struggles you deal with on a day-to-day basis.

Thankfully, I instantly connected with Dr. C, as she was patient, very kind, and compassionate. She could see that I was willing to give therapy my full attention.

Taking care of mental health became my number one priority.

Over the next 3 months, I participated in Cognitive Behavior Therapy and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy, which was an incredibly interesting process.

You can read more about my experiences with both therapies here.

Talking with Dr. C helped me in more ways than one. I will be forever grateful for the coping strategies and techniques that she taught me to help me manage my anxiety.

My anxiety incidents have become less frequent and intense since I started seeing Dr. C.

And I promise to see her again… before my mind shatters into a million pieces!

Final Thoughts: 7 Tips to Help with Anxiety

Anxiety attacks can be incredibly frightening and isolating.

That is why it is important to have a fully stocked anxiety toolbox, whether that is a weighted blanket, essential oils, or a reliable, qualified psychologist.

I hope that sharing the tools and strategies that I use to battle my anxiety will bring some small relief to you the next time anxiety pounds at your door.