Easy Brain Exercises That Lead to a Less Anxious Life

Nadia Hayes is a wellness coach in the Houston area. She is also the author of "One Poem a Day" and "One Drawing a Day." Here, she discusses some of the key points in her book "Choose Calm," giving readers tips for living a stress-free life. 

Anxiety is the knot of worry that we can’t seem to unravel, the fear that builds when we lose control of a situation, and the panicked sense that there is an avalanche of danger at our heels. We can tell ourselves to relax, but figuring out how to physically and mentally unwind is a whole other matter. Relaxation feels grossly at odds with a world that seems to be passing by at warp speed. Most of us are barreling through our day trying to accomplish as much as possible in the time allotted. Choose Calm is a step in a new direction. It’s a tool you can use when you’re just not sure how to begin living better; healthier; and happier. Journaling can help you work through this modern-day conflict where outer chaos is at odds with the quest for inner calm. Each page presents a thought-provoking prompt or an inspiring quote that urges you to stop, reflect, and change your approach—or at least be honest about the effectiveness of your current strategies for managing stress and anxiety.

How do we choose calm? When we are feeling stressed, we often think we need to get rid of our anxiety or disassociate from it. We get a massage, grab a stiff drink, or tuck ourselves into bed early to escape the feeling. While that may help temporarily, most of us will find that we emerge on the other side with the same load of stress. I would encourage anyone who’s anxious to take the time to get to know their anxiety better. Therapists and mindfulness practitioners advise us to name our feelings so that we don’t confuse them for facts. Are you really going to do horribly on that presentation at work, or is your anxiety warping the fact that you are completely ready and equipped to succeed? It isn’t until we understand anxiety as a lack of confidence in ourselves that we can begin to grapple with it, pin it down, and declare victory over it.

Many of the exercises in Choose Calm ask you to confront your anxiety openly and honestly so that it no longer controls you. The whole process of journaling is about naming and accepting all of your feelings (even the bad ones) in order to work your way through to the other side. When you aren’t afraid to feel anxious and let that dark shadow of a feeling pass overhead like a storm cloud, you’re one step closer to joy.

It isn’t until we understand anxiety as a lack of confidence in ourselves that we can begin to grapple with it, pin it down, and declare victory over it...

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