15 Fun Activities To Reduce Anxiety
The key to reducing anxiety is to relax your mind and focus on one task at a time. Your mind needs a single task to focus on to help keep the intrusive thoughts out. Here are some fun activities to help reduce your anxiety.
1. Coloring
Coloring is great for reducing anxiety because it is meditative. It’s almost like letting your brain take a nap. Coloring can put you in a state of such relaxation that it will be difficult for your mind to be filled with worry and panic. Focusing on a single task like coloring allows you to quiet your mind, but not leave it vulnerable to negative thoughts.
2. Crochet
Crochet is good for reducing anxiety because it allows you to be productive. When I get anxious, I feel mentally stuck. Being able to successfully create or do something helps get the ball rolling. It’s kind of like a reset button for your brain. The next time you feel anxious, try to crochet a sweater or a bag. If you’re new to crochet, start by making something simple, like a scarf.
3. Binge Watching
This is one of my favorite activities to reduce anxiety. In television the good guys always win, even when it gets tough. In the end everything works itself out. Binge watching lets you leave behind the uncertainty of life and give you some peace of mind. When you’re watching your favorite show, you’re not overthinking anything.
4. Reading
Reading is another fun activity to help reduce anxiety. It allows you to escape into another world and leave all of your problems behind. You know that feeling you get after you finish a really good book, like you just woke up. That, my friend, is called a book hangover and it is my go-to activity for a full mental reset. Next time you’re feeling anxious, give yourself a good old-fashioned book hangover.
5. Gaming
Gaming is great for reducing anxiety because it can give you hours of adventure and excitement. No matter what your life is like, you can create a new you with your avatar. Gaming gives your mind a goal to focus on and you get to decide how adventurous you want the journey towards that goal to be. And not all games have to be action-packed. You can play a mellow game where you build a house and do some farming. If you need a little more excitement, play a game with more intensity and blow up some zombie heads. Whatever you choose, gaming will give you mental relaxation for hours. It may even help you make new friends.
6. Writing
Writing helps reduce anxiety because it allows you to escape into a world of your own creation. You can create a word where the thing you’re worried about doesn’t exist. You get to decide the characters, scenarios, and the settings.You can make your story a comedy, a drama, a fantasy, or even a thriller. No matter the genre, you get to create your perfect world where everything works out the way you planned it, so there is no fear of the unknown.
7. Swimming
Swimming is another fun activity to reduce anxiety. It’s good for both your mind and body. The relaxing activity of swimming will put your mind at ease and give your body the exercise it needs to be healthy. When you are physically healthy, you will feel the benefits mentally as well.
8. Running
Running will help reduce your anxiety in a similar way swimming does. As you become healthy physically, you will feel healthy mentally too. With this activity, you can quite literally run away from your problems. As you’re running, imagine all of your fears and worries falling behind you. You’re running so fast that they can’t catch up. Try running the next time you are feeling anxious about a big decision. It should help you approach it with a calmer mindset.
9. Yoga
Yoga is another anxiety reducing activity that is good for both your mind and body. Yoga is centered around the mind, body, and spirit. You don’t need to be flexible to do yoga. You can start at the beginner’s level and still achieve the same relaxation. Practicing yoga everyday day can relax the tension in your body and your mind. I took a yoga class on my campus and it really helped when midterms and finals came around. If your campus offers yoga classes, try signing up for one. I guarantee you’ll start to see a difference in your body and emotions.
10. Baking
Baking is perfect for reducing anxiety because it’s methodical. It’s careful and logical with precise measurements, temperature, and cooking times. This order can be relaxing because there is no guesswork. You have instructions that tell you exactly what to do and how to do it. *Sigh* If only life could be like that. Baking allows you to get your mind in order by following a pattern of instructions, so don’t feel bad if you stress-bake because it may actually be helping you.
11. Reorganize
Organizing your room can help you organize your mind and reduce your anxiety. Whenever I have a big assignment to do, I reorganize my room because it helps my head feel less cluttered. Since I can’t physically organize the thoughts in my head, I organize the things in my room. I move the furniture in my room around until it feels like everything is in the right place and that helps get into a mindset that is ready to take on any task.
12. Listen To Music
If you’re feeling overwhelmed, try listening to music to help reduce your anxiety. Listening to your favorite artists can make you happy and relaxed. The consistent pattern of the melody can put you in a trance-like state, distracting you from negative thoughts. It’s that euphoric feeling you get when your jam comes on. So, put that annoying, yet catchy, song on repeat and let your worries fly away.
13. Puzzles
The problem-solving style of puzzles are perfect for reducing anxiety. Solving puzzles is peaceful, quiet, and soothing. It helps slow down your mind since you have to examine each puzzle piece to see which ones fit together. Solving puzzles is a fun activity you can do by yourself or with friends.
14. Woodworking
Similar to crochet, woodworking helps reduce anxiety by allowing you to be productive. It takes time to craft something like a table or a chair, leaving little room to focus on negative thoughts. Along with the relaxation in the time it takes to craft something, the satisfaction you’ll have after completing it will bring you joy. Any activity that brings you joy can definitely help reduce your anxiety.
15. Gardening
Gardening is great for reducing anxiety because you can physically see the fruits of your labor. Some people may feel anxious when they can’t see their progression to their goal. For example, if you can’t see any progression towards your career goal, it may cause you to lose motivation. When gardening, you can see the progression of the plant from the moment you put the seed in the ground. Because of this, gardening is peaceful, relaxing, and satisfying.
