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What can I do to lessen my anxiety before an important event I need to attend?

30 Answers
Last Updated: 02/23/2021 at 6:46am
1 Tip to Feel Better
United States
Moderated by

Jessica McDaniel, LPC, LCPC

Licensed Professional Counselor

I have been practicing cognitive behavioral psychotherapy since 2007 with a diverse group of adult clients with various diagnoses, all races, and socioeconomic classes.

Top Rated Answers
positiveWhisper24
March 13th, 2015 10:50pm
I've found that self hypnosis can be extremely helpful. Don't be scared by the title, it's basically just some deep relaxation techniques, guided imagination etc. There is a wide variety of videos on You Tube that can help.
Anonymous
June 17th, 2015 7:10am
deep breaths helps a lot , and also spending time with pets. Pet's are a great thing to help you feel more relaxed and less anxious
giggleDay95
December 22nd, 2014 8:34pm
Talk about it with someone. Do some background research into the event. Take some time out to relax and breath :) When its over with you will wonder what you were anxious about in the first place :D
freshLight64
December 22nd, 2014 9:01pm
Well the best way is to take 10 deep breaths in then slowly out. Do this like 20 minutes before the important event
Anonymous
December 29th, 2014 3:50am
Stand in a "super woman" pose beforehand. A study has shown that standing like that raises testosterone levels and gives you more and less anxiety.
ZigyPreston
December 22nd, 2014 10:09pm
When it comes to anxiety , there is a whole bunch of things one can do. It's due to anxiety that friend presented me the idea of "rituals" . Basically , as an atheist , i 'm not into religion. So , what is a "ritual" here ? A ritual can be a common , everyday thing , that you do either way. It's not what you do , is how you do it. I was in the army , waking up every day nervous and anxious about the upcoming day. And a ritual i created was my morning everyday shaving. Instead of using a razor i bought myself a vintage razor/shaving machine . I learned how to use cream instead of foam. And i began to wake up 10 minutes before everyone else to give myself the chance to enjoy his morning shaving and some quiet time before the madness of the day. Common rituals of everyday life can be : morning coffee , breakfast , cooking for yourself , morning stroll , reading of a book , smoking , dancing alone etc. Z.
Popsicle1990
September 14th, 2015 8:10pm
Funny Videos. Sounds ridiculous but having something simple and funny to just take the edge of something. It stops the over rehearsing of that speech and just brings you back to reality a little. Laughter is the best medicine.
HealingLotus
April 11th, 2015 12:01am
If you imagine yourself at the event and imagine yourself not being anxious, it's actually crazy how it helps. Also if you imagine yourself succeeding in the areas you are worried about. It's all about how you see things, that's all anxiety is. It's being caught in the brain stem, if you can bring yourself up back to the higher parts of the brain, you should be fine. Don't be a victim to the fight or flight reflex. You can do this.
Anonymous
December 19th, 2016 1:05pm
Stop for a moment and take a few deep breathes and have a glass of water. Try holding something in your hand which you can focus on.
Fyn
March 6th, 2017 12:41am
First step is to accept the way you feel and the way your going to feel so dont try to fight against it or be afraid of the anxiety as that simply results in anxiety about anxiety. Once you accept your feelings for what they are then practice relaxation techniques to give your mind and body the well needed rest it needs for about 10-30mins each day. Another great idea is to combat any negative anxious thoughts with positive ones by writing down the negative thoughts you get then when your feeling relaxed with a clear mind to go back and write down a reassuring positive response to the negative thought you had before. You then end up with a log of self made cures to your anxious thoughts.
Anonymous
January 25th, 2016 5:18pm
Find your happy place. Talk to a friend. Write down that you're feeling. Read a book. Eat your favorite food. Go for a walk. Dance to loud music. Talk to yourself. Just a few things I do to calm down.
Anonymous
January 25th, 2016 7:20pm
One thing that has helped me is to prepare as much as possible. So planning ahead, making decisions in advance, anticipating things that might happen. This saves me from having to make decisions under pressure and getting overwhelmed. There will always be things I didn't expect, but planning as much in advance as possible helps me to feel a little more in control.
eternalGrace13
March 15th, 2016 6:02am
Learning meditation has many positive effects on the body. Exercising (swimming, biking, hiking, walking, etc) can assist in the release of chemicals in the brain that have been known to decrease anxiety.
Nads26
June 13th, 2016 2:28am
it helps to take deep breaths and to remind oneself that if i succeed it will be great. if it didn't work the way i want , there is nothing to lose, you can try another time. everything will always be under control
dancingPeace34
December 13th, 2016 1:52pm
As a sufferer of anxiety myself, there are lots of things I do to help calm my anxieties. The main one is deep breaths. I go somewhere quiet, if possible, and close my eyes and breathe as deeply as I can. This calms my mind and body as a small meditation session would.
Anonymous
February 23rd, 2021 6:46am
If you want to lessen your anxiety before an important event, you can try doing calming exercises like meditation. If that does not work, try not to think about a certain event and make yourself busy with a different matter. What usually works for me is either studying real hard while listening to music for a long time or cleaning the whole house very thoroughly while also listening to music as it helps me not this about the matter, subsequently, lowering my anxiety. However, sometimes it is good to think about the anxious event as it helps calm down when trying to think about how it might happen and how can you control it if something happens.
GratefulYogi
July 31st, 2018 3:05pm
Taking a moment to do something you enjoy or helps you relax before it helps! Sometimes I listen to music, go out for a walk, do some yoga, or meditate to help me get rid of some pent up anxiety and energy. I also avoid caffeine and go for some herbal tea instead!
Anonymous
August 12th, 2019 11:33pm
some things that can help are breathing, affirmations, and logic. breathing exercises are great for decreasing anxiety because they can actually affect your parasympathetic nervous system, which is the part of your nervous system that calms you down. a common breathing exercise (my personal favorite) is 4-7-8, where you breathe in for four seconds, hold your breath for seven seconds, and breathe out for eight, but there are lots out there if that particular one doesn't work. second, affirmations! tell yourself over and over again, even if you don't believe it, that you'll be fine and you'll do great and everything will be okay. brains tend to latch onto repeated information, so even if you don't believe it in the moment, the more you remind yourself of that, the more likely it is to stick. and lastly, logic! remind yourself that it's okay to feel anxious, that anxiety is a normal feeling and that your feelings are valid, but also remind yourself that you are strong enough and that anxiety is temporary. good luck!
Anonymous
December 22nd, 2014 6:38pm
Firstly, be prepared.Try to exercise and relax before the event. Try to stay hydrated.Think about positive things or engaging yourself in some hobby before the event or just simply Laugh :D as that may calm you down and lessen your anxiety.
LillyTheJoyous
December 8th, 2015 11:58am
You just need to focus on the important things and try to use your time well and also try to do new interesting things,overthinking is the main reason behind anxiety so simply stop overthinking :)
joshuabel99
November 10th, 2015 12:27am
To lessen my anxiety, I often think of relaxing things. I'll listen to calming music and I try to think about things that make me happy. Sometimes I just go to the park where I know that it is most likely empty and simply enjoy the scenery. If that doesn't help, I look for someone who can help me take my minds of things and just have a silly conversation.
Rebekahh
November 10th, 2015 12:10am
One thing you can do is to shift your focus to something else. Distractions keep you from thinking about the anxiety. One of my tricks are putting my wrists under icy cold water for a while, and at the same time I go through what I have in my bedroom in my head. I think about random things that make me occupied enough to not think about the anxiety, because focusing on the anxious feelings make my anxiety worse.
Angelwings63
September 22nd, 2015 8:25am
Feel nervous before an interview? Do your normal daily chores you do without any exceptions but make sure you are on time for the interview. This will distract you from worrying about it. You can relax by playing a mobile phone game while waiting. Listen to some music. These will all calm your mind.
WonderlandRabbit
July 13th, 2015 8:56pm
Review in your mind or outloud to others what may happen during the event. Go over possible scenarios and brace yourself for them.
KfindingSpeaceK
June 17th, 2015 8:07pm
Take deep breaths, in through your nose and out of your mouth. Focus on how you're breathing, breathe in your nose for around 5-6 seconds, hold for a few seconds, breathe slowly out of your mouth for about 7 seconds. (relax your mouth, your mouth shouldn't be wide open when you breathe out.) Do this exercise for about 3-5 minutes. If you're able to, you can use www.calm.com and choose a setting that is calming to you. Tips: Don't overthink your breathing, your breathing times don't have to be exact, you can simplify it to "Breathe in slowly and deeply through your nose, hold, breathe slowly out of your mouth. Repeat"
Anonymous
May 27th, 2015 8:16am
You could find out more about the event that you are going to attend so that you will know what to expect and you can also think of positive reasons why you are going to this event.
Boxqueen
April 5th, 2015 3:28pm
I like to listen to good music, eat my favorite cup of ice cream, basically anything that will keep my mind off the event that gives me anxiety.
positive8reflection
December 22nd, 2014 8:44pm
When someone asks me this, I tell them what I do. When I feel anxious about speaking in front of many people at an important event, I tell myself that each of these people are friends and they want to hear what I have to say.
Anonymous
December 22nd, 2014 7:37pm
Take deep breathes, remind yourself that you can do this and imagine turning your anxiety dial down from a 10 to a 5, picture what that looks like. Fake it till you make it, it is okay to act calm and collected on the surface but underneath feel more pressured-like a swan; on top of the water they look confident and smooth but underneath the water they are paddling like crazy. Try to have a 'fiddle object' such as blue tack that you can play with in your hand to try and focus any negative energy from your head (mouth) to your hands. Most importantly believe in you!! You are valued and wanted at the event and you matter.
Anonymous
December 22nd, 2014 7:01pm
Do something that calms you down, or take deep breathes and focus on you, and realize that all that matters is how you think you did