3 Ways To Deal with Anxiety as a Millennial

Millennials are being called the “anxious generation,” and this is no joke. We millennials get a lot of bad press, so much so that “millennial” is practically a bad word. Don’t let that get in the way of getting help. Don’t let other people’s simplistic description of our generation keep us from having good mental health.

I’m here to drop some truth on you!

You do not need to be ashamed of your anxiety, and if you are ashamed, don’t be ashamed of that shame. People now a days are more willing to talk about mental illness, but there is still a lot of stigma. There are people who still don’t acknowledge the existence of mental illness. There are people who think that those with mental illness are just being weak and whiny.   Also, no one likes feeling vulnerable in general. Being vulnerable can make you feel afraid. That’s normal. You are not a freak.

The next truth I want to make clear is that mental illness can be very serious. There are a bunch of articles out there trying to explain why our generation is so anxious. They blame our use of technology. They say we don’t have an attention span, and that we are lazy. These articles are not important because they are trying to generalize us(also just hate on us). Big shifts in culture, like the boom of technology, can affect our mental health, but there is a plethora of reasons people suffer from anxiety. Just because we were born into this age of Instagram and Snapchat doesn’t mean we are defined by it. Being millennials shouldn’t make our mental illnesses invalid. What’s important is that we get help.

“Never be ashamed of what you feel. You have the right to feel any emotion that you want and to do what makes you happy.” -Demi Lovato

If you suffer from anxiety, I strongly urge you to get professional help. In the mean time, here are 3 things you can try to get your anxiety under control.

1.Watch your caffeine intake.

“But coffee first,” right? Maybe not. We all know how caffeine dependent we can be…we being everyone and not just millennials. This is not a great thing, especially for those with anxiety. Caffeine can make anxiety worse, trigger an anxiety attack, and cause or worsen insomnia. This leads us to my next thing.

2. Get Sleep. Seriously, go to sleep.

Insomnia sucks! I have it. I’m working on it, and you should too. A lot of us like to stay up and do work, play video games, Instagram, etc. Getting sleep is so important to a persons’ health, but it’s extremely important with those suffering from anxiety.

Unfortunately, anxiety is a reason why we can’t sleep. Racing thoughts of impending work, school, and “just life” doom. This I hard to deal with. I know. Something that can help is good “sleep hygine.” Here are some things to start with:

• Your bed is only for sleep and sexy time. No work. No Reddit or Twitter on your phone. No video games or hanging out.
• Avoid caffeine, alcohol and sugar close to bedtime.
• Avoid eating close to bedtime, especially with foods that may cause digestion problems.
• I hate this one. Limit or eliminate your naps. You shouldn’t nap longer that 20 minutes during the day. My sleep doctors told me to take them out completely. Worst news of my life.

3. Learn to slow your mind.

If sitting and meditating gives you peace, do it! I hate it. There are other alternatives, like yoga and qui gong, which are more like active meditation. Find more alternatives on my blog post, “3 Mindfulness Exercises That are not Meditating.”

None of the things I gave you are necessarily easy. Anxiety can be tough. That’s the reality, but these things can help. Also, these are only a few things you can try out of many more options. Keep practicing them if they don’t work at first. If those things don’t help, there are other things to try. Seeking professional help is one of those things.

We are doing alright, my millennial friends. We are not a bad word. We are awesome, and it’s up to us to shape who we are. Thanks for reading!