Whether you have been diagnosed with General Anxiety, or you're just anxious about a change in your life, we've all experienced anxiety. To most people, it's no stranger. To some people, it's a pest that just wont leave. Everybody deals with it in different ways, one of the most popular being music and others including drawing or watching a movie. Some are medicated for it. No matter how we cope, when anxiety takes over, it's not pretty. It can lead to nausea or stomach aches, headaches and irritability, and even panic attacks. When things in life seem a little too heavy on your shoulders, and you feel like you're about to cave in, just take a second a breathe. That's it, in through the nose and out through the mouth, as my English professor used to say during tests. However, in that case it didn't help much. Imagine Satan telling you to take a deep breath, but you're already in perpetual hell, and everything is lava, and you didn't even ask to play the lava game with the devil. It was so fun, honestly, the best.

Anyway, here's three things to do when you're anxious to take your mind off of the state of your situation, whatever it may be. Remember, inhale, exhale.

1. Coloring / Doodling is a great way to forget your problems for a few minutes and be a kid again.

There are even apps for your phone designed to color in pictures like Colorfly and Color Therapy on the Apple App store. And if you'd rather the real thing, pick up a twelve pack of colored pencils from the closest dollar store and get to it! Draw some interesting characters with squiggly arms and mustaches made of, oh I don't know, pizza slices? Don't take it seriously. Draw something absolutely ridiculous and make up stories for the weird things you draw, whether it's zigzag houses or rabbits in suits. It's sure to put a smile on your face, trust me. I've done this multiple times for the fun of it.

2. Listen to a CD from your childhood.

because why the hell not? I'd be the biggest liar on earth if I told you all I didn't take out my Hilary Duff self titled CD and blast it on my stereo sometimes when I'm feeling down. And if those awesome CDs from your childhood are missing, or you got rid of them during your "I'm not a kid anymore" phase (I've been there, trust me), you can more than likely find the album on Youtube or Spotify and stream it there! Things as a kid were so easy, we never knew we had it so good. Sometimes when I hear songs from when I was a kid, like some of the stuff we'd hear on the way to elementary school while listening to Radio Disney, it honestly cheers me up like nothing else. It reminds me of sunny afternoons with lemonade and chicken nuggets rather than, well, anything else us lame adults do. *Sigh*

3. Write it out.

Writing down your feelings can be more helpful than you think. I guess in the end it depends on the person, but if you're the type who needs to actually tell people what's wrong and vent in order to feel better, writing your problems may be for you. Imagine as you're writing down what's wrong, you're talking to a person or counselor or close family member/ friend about it. Also, if you're the type to vent to people, there's a chance that sometimes, they just don't want to hear it. And that's okay! We are only human, after all. Writing down your problems gives you a way to let it out, and keep your business yours in the process. So grab your smoothest writing pen and an old journal, and get to work!

I hope that these suggestions helped you out. Anxiety is a tough disorder to live with, and I know that sometimes it feels like the end of the world, but trust me, it's not. If things seem too terrible to cope, I highly suggest finding a counselor to help, or maybe someone to talk to. The whole "writing your problems" thing isn't for everybody, and sometimes, you just need the real thing.

Let me know if these suggestions helped! If there's any more things that you all do when you're anxious about something, let me know in the comments below! Thank you for reading!