“Just breathe.”
“You’ll be fine.”
“I’ve dealt with much worse than you.”
“Just get over it.”

If you suffer from anxiety, panic attacks, or any form of mental health condition for that matter, I’m almost certain you’ve heard these lines before.

And in moments when your brain is pummeling negative thoughts at you non-stop, these kinds of empty platitudes hardly help, let alone provide comfort.

Y’see, anxiety is irrational. It’s the part of our brain that cannot comprehend justification when it is in peak fight or flight mode.

Therefore words such as “it’s all in your head” or “you’re worried about nothing” don’t help the primal part of your cerebral cortex that’s flooding your body with adrenaline and making you feel like you’re about to be attacked or on the precipice of impending doom.

And this year? “Let’s just say that there’s a lot of those feelings going around.

Anxiety and mental health conditions though can be extremely hard to voice or understand.

Especially because symptoms often vary from person to person. One way to help friends and loved ones cope when you’re feeling anxious is to give them a bit of a blueprint on what to say when you’re in a stressed-out state.

Such as:
Switch “just breathe” to “you’re safe, this will pass soon.”
“You’ll be fine” to “I’m here for you.”
“I’ve dealt with much worse than you” to “I can see that you’re struggling, how can I best support you in this time?”
“Just get over it” to “we will get through this together.”

And if in moments when you’re feeling overwhelmed and you’re on your own? Instagram can help. Yes, really.

Despite social media often being the enemy of an anxious brain, these accounts, run by psychologists and health professionals offer simple and easy to understand tips to get you through moments of doubt.

 

@TheAnxietyHealer

This page is run by a registered psychologist and is so helpful at breaking down and understanding anxiety in a practical way. They also have a podcast called The Anxiety Chicks which is pretty fantastic for when you need to tune in and chill out.

 

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A post shared by The Anxiety Healer (@theanxietyhealer) on Aug 10, 2020 at 8:19am PDT

 

@DrJulieSmith

Run by registered psychologist Dr Julie Smith, here you’ll find amazing quotes, as well as helpful TikToks from her account which has 1.1mil followers. She shares lots of practical easy to understand tips on how to get out of low moods, anxious days and also shares many facts about the brain and why we feel certain emotions.

 

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Follow for more ❤️ Like and share to help me in my mission to educate the world with insights from therapy so that we can all enjoy good mental health. Catastrophising is a thought bias that happens to everyone. When your stress response is triggered, your brain is set up to look for danger. When it can’t immediately detect danger, your brain is wired to imagine what could happen so that you can do whatever is necessary to stay safe. When we are truly in a dangerous situation, this is an incredible survival response. But in today’s society, our stress responses are triggered repeatedly, in situations that are not life or death. So, when we start catastrophising, it is not followed up with action, and we are left with lots of worry thoughts churning over in our minds. When we spend time focusing on worst case scenarios, it re-triggers the stress response and our anxiety increases. So how do we deal with catastrophising? First, we must begin to spot them. Maybe start by noting down at the end of the day, any catastophising thoughts that came up today. In time, you will be able to notice them in the moment, as they happen. Secondly, when you notice that your thoughts are jumping to the worst case scenario, call it out. Label that thought as a catastrophising thought. A thought bias. Simply acknowledging the thought as a bias can sometimes be enough to help us recognise that there are alternative perspectives available, and thinking the worst does not mean the worst will happen. #anxiety #panic #panicattacks #panicattack #anxietyattack #anxietytips #anxietyrelief #therapy #ocd #anxious #anxiousthoughts #psychologist #therapist #selfhelp #selfhealers #selfcare #selflove #motivation #inspiration #mentalhealth #mentalhealthawareness #anxietyawareness #happierandhealthier #happy #happiness

A post shared by Dr Julie Smith | Psychologist (@drjuliesmith) on Aug 12, 2020 at 8:01am PDT

 

@kimberleyquinlan

Kimberley Quinland is an Anxiety + OCD psychotherapist so she shares a ton of helpful information on coping with ruminating thoughts, shame and guilt, as well as lots of IGTV stories sharing tips and how she deals with certain issues on a daily basis which is very relatable and helpful.

 

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A post shared by Anxiety OCD Therapist -she/her (@kimberleyquinlan) on Aug 4, 2020 at 11:22am PDT

 

@Dr.Lalitaa

Dr Lalitaa is a psychologist who shares easy to understand graphics about mental health. She also does weekly book reviews on self-help books which can save you time on trawling through books in store.

 

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A post shared by A Mind Doctor 🧠💛 (@dr.lalitaa) on Jul 30, 2020 at 8:19am PDT

 

@Health_Anxiety

This page is so helpful if you regularly deal with panic attacks. Here you’ll find easy-to-scan graphics regarding anxiety so you can glance and go if you’re in a rush.

 

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A post shared by Anxiety Support (@health_anxiety) on Aug 7, 2020 at 3:41pm PDT

 

@MyDefiningMoment

This has got to be one of the most relatable and helpful pages on Instagram. Mostly because it seamlessly blends hilarious down-to-earth posts with really helpful and informative captions. We’d never call anxiety ‘fun’ but this account will definitely put a smile on your face, even when you’re in a down phase.

 

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A post shared by Giulia Preziuso, M.A., MHC (@mydefiningmoment) on Aug 6, 2020 at 5:28am PDT

 

@Anxiety_Wellbeing

Another great self-help page sharing graphics and positive affirmations. This page also focuses on different personality types too and how to relate to extroverts and introverts which is amazing for dealing with people you might be in lockdown with.

 

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A post shared by S E L F H E L P ℹ (@anxiety_wellbeing) on Aug 2, 2020 at 5:27am PDT

 

 

@The_Depression_Chronicles11

A fantastic information source on how to support loved ones dealing with anxiety and mental health struggles.

 

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A post shared by The Depression Chronicles (@the_depression_chronicles11) on Aug 11, 2020 at 4:45pm PDT

 

@TheBehaviourTherapist

Really easy to understand issues in dot point form to help with lots of different societal and mental health issues we’re all faced with from time to time. Including ‘why do breakups hurt?’ and how to handle criticism.

 

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A post shared by Nabill Zafir, Therapist (@thebehaviourtherapist) on Aug 12, 2020 at 8:30am PDT

@crazyheadcomics

Empowering and educating people with anxiety through amazing artwork. Seriously. It’s like a beautiful little comic strip dedicated to easing your mind in times of duress. Scroll through for the art, stay for the tips.

 

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A post shared by ᴍᴀᴛɪʟᴅᴀ (@crazyheadcomics) on Aug 5, 2020 at 12:50pm PDT