The following list is an offering of ten tools, tips, or exploratory suggestions that anyone can use to help reduce their anxiety. They incorporate the different viewpoints expressed in Part 1, so pick and choose which ones you like:

1. Practicing Presence: Stop and pay attention. Tune into your five senses: notice objects and people around you, listen to sounds you may hear, focus on any smells wafting through the air, rub your hands together, or feel your feet on the ground. Practicing this kind of sensory technique can take us out of anxiety and into the present moment.
2. Deep Breathing: Take some slow, deep, steady breaths – from the belly, not the chest – with the exhales lasting longer than the inhales. You can count if you like. This will send a signal to your brain and heart that you are OK and not in danger, and your body and mind will calm down, enabling you to think more clearly and act more efficiently. Practice as often as you like.
3. Relaxation: Notice any tension in your body – muscles, feet, hands, shoulders, chest, belly, back, neck, jaw, and head. Do your best to relax any physical tension you may feel. You could download Calm or a similar app, do some yoga poses or stretches, listen to soothing music, go for a walk on the beach, or do anything else you like to bring calmness into your life. Integrate conscious relaxation into your schedule for a few minutes every day.
4. Research: Empower yourself by learning more about anxiety. Do some research on the different kinds of anxiety and their symptoms. Get to know the available treatments in your area, and read success stories about how people overcame their anxiety. Make a toolkit of helpful techniques you discover. If you are up for it, investigate the different types of psychological defense mechanisms that exist and see if you can identify any that you use in daily life by yourself, with others, or in certain situations.
5. Feeling: Make time for yourself to feel your feelings, and notice which ones arise. If there is anxiety, do you sense an emotion hidden underneath it? Do you notice any resistance to your feelings? What information are your emotions conveying to you? Allow your feelings to express and pass through without judgment. Whether you are doing this on your own or working with a professional, be sure to go slow. Emotions are powerful energies and should be treated with respect and wisdom so that no harm is done.
6. Asking For Help: If you are struggling, turn to the supportive people and resources in your life and ask for help. This can be one of the most important steps you take for your mental health. If you are in constant pain or unable to function, consider speaking with your doctor or a psychiatrist about anti-anxiety medications or a useful alternative. If you recognize that you may be suffering from trauma, reach out to a trauma therapist, and keep in mind that it is not necessary to relive your trauma in order to heal from it. Or, consider seeking help from a professional who specializes in anxiety.
7. Recognizing Your Thoughts: When anxiety arises, notice the thoughts that come with it. What do they say? Is there a theme? Do you recognize the presence of an inner critic? Keep track of what you discover, and see if you can establish a pattern or draw connections to specific events, time periods, or people.
8. Changing Your Thoughts: When you notice negative thoughts, try replacing them with positive thoughts. For example: If a negative thought arises, “I am a failure,” try saying this to yourself instead: “I made a mistake, but I know that I am a capable individual, and if I keep persevering, eventually I will succeed.” If replacing thoughts doesn’t feel good to you, then try reframing them instead: “Even a failure can be considered a success if I change my attitude about it. Success is in the eye of the beholder.” In other words, be flexible and focus on your values and goals.
9. Introspection: Look deeply at yourself. Perhaps answer these questions honestly: Am I happy? Do I like my career and the trajectory of my life? Are my relationships satisfying? Who am I? Sometimes just acknowledging and accepting how we feel and what we want can be enough for a change to happen.
10. Meditation: Sit comfortably in a quiet room for just five minutes. Can you witness your thoughts, feelings, and breath dispassionately, like clouds passing through the sky, as they move through the field of your consciousness? Can you accept anxiety as it is in this moment? Can you let go of the mental narrative and rest in aware presence? See what happens.

In conclusion, anxiety can be a serious and often misunderstood ailment that has the potential to wreak havoc on every aspect of our lives. From this article, hopefully you have gained a deeper understanding of what anxiety is from different viewpoints, how it arises, and how it can be seen through. And hopefully you are now more prepared with some useful tools for the next time when anxiety rears its head. In my eyes, each perspective of anxiety presented here is one piece of a greater whole, with no one view being more important or more accurate than another. The question is: which one(s) resonate with you? This article, of course, is not an exhaustive explanation of anxiety, nor does it provide every proven method for dealing with it. My intent has simply been to share some of the most important things I have learned about anxiety so that you can be better equipped to address it, should it appear in your life or in the life of a loved one.

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Resources for Further Reading

• Rewire Your Anxious Brain: How to Use the Neuroscience of Fear to End Anxiety, Panic & Worry by Catherine M. Pittman, Ph.D. and Elizabeth M. Karle, MLIS
• The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel Van Der Kolk, M.D.
•  Living Like You Mean It: Use the Wisdom and Power of Your Emotions to Get the Life You Really Want by Ronald J. Frederick, Ph.D.
•  There is Nothing Wrong with You: Going Beyond Self-Hate by Cheri Huber
• The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself by Michael A. Singer