How POPSUGAR Editors Cope With Anxiety — and How You Can, Too

A few POPSUGAR editors say they rely on meditation. During periods of high anxiety, Assistant Editor of Commerce Haley Lyndes uses Headspace to listen to a 10-minute meditation typically centered around reducing said anxiety. Assistant Fitness Editor Maggie Ryan made it a point to meditate every day in 2021. It helped her when she couldn't rely on exercise to quell her anxiety due to an injury.

"When I'm feeling intensely anxious or stressed, I use one of the Headspace app's SOS meditations, which are designed for times of panic, fear, and anxiety," Ryan notes. "They're short, to the point, and help me relax and breathe when I feel like I can't."

Chanel Vargas, trending and viral features assistant editor, says that she likes to relax and clear out buzzing thoughts with a few minutes of nighttime meditation or deep breathing. It calms her down and makes her feel more well-equipped to take on the upcoming day.

Senior Fashion Editor Sarah Wasilak particularly likes box breathing — inhaling for four counts, holding for four counts, exhaling for four counts, and holding at the bottom of your exhale for four counts ahead of another inhale.

While some people like to put away their phones to cope with anxiety, Lyndes uses hers or other forms of technology as a means to unwind. "Sometimes cuddling up on the couch with a few funny TikTok videos or a TV show is enough to help me forget about my nerves and put me in a better headspace," she says. "Feeling cozy and comfortable goes a long way."

Lyndes also tries practicing gratitude in her daily life. In turn, "I've been able to trick my mind into being positive when it comes to anxiety, too," she says, adding that she relies on affirmations like "you are calm," "everything is OK," and "today is going to be a good day."

Wasilak mentions that she oftentimes will write a list on a piece of paper or on her phone — but not just any list: a "FUN" list, such as her all-time favorite restaurants or favorite vacation spots. POPSUGAR UK Editor Tori Crowther similarly says that she relies on a list of "basic" things that make her feel good and calm.

On Crowther's list are activities like walking her dog, getting coffee, painting her nails, and cleaning the house; relaxing acts like settling into a hot shower and taking a whiff of nice smells such as perfume, flowers, or candles; and wellness-related tips like drinking lots of water. She also has a small list of some favorite foods and snacks that are easy to get. "Having the list on my phone gives me a physical reminder that by spending an evening or a day doing one or more of these things, I know without a doubt I'll feel better (even if it's just the slightest bit better) and more in control."

Lyndes isn't sure if it's the placebo effect working, but taking daily ashwagandha gummies makes her feel more calm, centered, and focused. Two small studies — one from September 2019 and one from December 2019 — have shown that ashwagandha supplements may help with stress and anxiety, though both used extract specifically, not gummies.

"If my anxiety is more urgent, I like to take the time to remove myself from whatever situation is making me anxious, if possible, and go for walks to clear my head," Vargas says. "Replacing screentime with fresh air and quiet time to myself — even with the noise of the city all around me — typically helps to distract me from whatever was making me anxious and gives me a break to think."

Vargas also says she loves to go for a quick run on the treadmill to calm her anxiety because it gets her blood pumping and is an outlet to channel her everyday stress. It's a physical and mental coping mechanism for her.

Senior SEO Manager Beau Brink says that "good smells" are his go-to coping mechanism, particularly when he has persistent anxiety. "I think it started when I was in high school," he recalls. "I liked to drive to school really, really early so that I could have some alone time and go for a walk. There was a bakery down the street from my school, so the surrounding few blocks always smelled like croissants first thing in the morning."

This continued for Brink as he aged. "When I lived in a walkable neighborhood in my 20s and [was] really struggling, I figured out where all the good smells were: a bánh mi place, an apothecary that sold soaps, a spice store, a bakery."

Brink also notes that if he's having a full-blown panic attack, he's learned to let himself feel anxious and lean into that physical and emotional discomfort no matter how uncomfortable it is. "Discomfort isn't necessarily a bad thing, and paying attention to the panic (rather than distracting myself from it) has also made me pay attention to the fact that it always eventually goes away," he says. "Now I see panic as value-neutral; it's not bad, it's just something that happens that I have to get through."

Wasilak agrees. "I tell myself to acknowledge my anxiety instead of running away from it. Sometimes that means telling the person I'm with that I'm experiencing it, or just embracing it into my body, feeling it, and telling myself it's OK to sit with it and that it doesn't always pass right away," she says.

Some of the POPSUGAR staff members mentioned good smells already, and going off of that, Wasilak also says that connecting with her senses has proven useful for anxiety. "Name one thing you can see, one thing you can touch, one thing you can feel, one thing you can taste," she instructs. This practice, she explains, is grounding.

"When my anxiety is at its worst, I like to close my eyes and listen to the podcast 'Poetry Unbound' from On Being Studios," Standards and Ethics Editor Chris Roney says. "Pádraig Ó Tuama does these beautiful, breathy, emphatic poetry readings in his Irish drawl, then unpacks a poem's contents before reading it again. For one, his voice instantly puts me at ease: I detense. But the poetry itself, with its starts and stops, forces me to be present to my own breathing." Roney notes that he can gradually divert his attention to those words to find comfort.

If Ryan's work stress and anxiety don't dissipate for a few hours after she signs off in the evening, she'll do an Alo Moves yoga class. "Something about the movement synced up to my breath pulls me into the present moment and into my body in a way I can't replicate with anything else," she notes.

"Go through your day up until the moment you felt anxious," Wasilak advises. "Think about all the things you did. As an affirmation, remind yourself that if you made it through all of those things, then you're OK, and you will make it through this moment, too. Just ride the wave."

POPSUGAR Fitness Staff Writer Jenny Sugar says she oftentimes calls a friend to talk through her worries. Brink, too, says his friend Hannah is great for helping him think of ways he can care for himself during periods of anxiety. "When I check in with her when I'm anxious, she always asks if I've had water or anything to eat. Now I can ask myself: 'Have you had water lately? Have you eaten? Have you specifically eaten a piece of fruit or a vegetable? Have you taken a deep breath? Are your shoulders down or by your ears? Is there something that hurts that you could stretch?' When my friends are upset, I try to pass a little Hannah on and ask them, too."