Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms for Anxiety

When anxiety is bad, it’s bad, and there are few things we will (or won’t) do to feel better.

That pressure in your chest, the thoughts racing through your head… it’s at best uncomfortable, and at worst, it makes you want to hide under the covers and doomscroll for hours.

I’ve been there–I live with anxiety myself.

Although there’s not always a “cure” for anxiety, there are ways that you can cope with anxiety to feel better in the moment and in the long run.

In this post, I will…

1. Caution you against some unhealthy coping mechanisms for anxiety, and 
2. Recommend some healthy coping mechanisms so you can start managing your anxiety sustainably.

Let’s dive in!

What’s the difference between healthy and unhealthy coping mechanisms?

Coping mechanisms are thoughts or behaviors we engage in to help manage difficult emotions. Some of these coping mechanisms are healthy, and others… not so much.

Unhealthy coping mechanisms may help you feel better in the moment, but it’s crucial to choose healthy coping mechanisms for lasting relief. Engaging in unhealthy coping mechanisms will contribute to your anxiety over time, and it’ll eventually backfire.

Unhealthy coping mechanisms for anxiety

You likely intuitively know which of your coping mechanisms are unhealthy, but here are a few to avoid.

When I describe these, know that you are NOT being judged here–everyone with anxiety has done at least one (or all) of these.

Substance abuse

If you feel the urge to drink or partake in drugs every day to keep your anxiety at bay, you may be using substances to cope with your anxiety.

Although many people swear by things like CBD or calming tea to manage their anxiety, dependence and misuse of substances–whether that’s marijuana, alcohol, or “hard” drugs–only contribute to anxiety.

Having a few cocktails at happy hour might take the edge off of your anxiety in the moment, but hangxiety is likely right around the corner. Taking an edible (or two) at night might force you to relax, but a gummy shouldn’t be the only thing that helps you manage your anxiety.

Online shopping

Maybe your vice is online shopping. That new-purchase high feels amazing, but what happens when you regret your impulse buy a few weeks later?

It’s a band-aid fix, and unless you’re swiping your card to pay for a therapy session, you’re not going to get the relief that you’re looking for.

Disordered eating

Taking on an obsessive new diet makes us feel like we’re in control. But in reality, strict diets give us the illusion of control. I hate to break it to you, but giving up bread and taking turmeric supplements don’t treat anxiety.

Maybe your anxiety shows up more on the opposite side of the spectrum with binge eating. The release you feel while binge eating certainly keeps anxiety at bay, but after eating a whole pint of Ben and Jerry’s (no judgment… been there), you feel anxious and sick.

Food is not the answer to coping with your anxiety.

Obsessive exercise

Although exercise is excellent for coping with all kinds of mental health problems, you may have a tendency to take it too far.

An unrealistic, Olympian-level workout routine provides us with the same illusion of control. Exercise certainly isn’t the worst unhealthy coping mechanism on this list, but if the elliptical is the only thing keeping you from a panic attack, it’s time to incorporate other coping mechanisms.

Doomscrolling

These days, doomscrolling is probably the most common unhealthy coping mechanism for anxiety.

When you feel overwhelmed by anxiety, you may lean on the ease and accessibility of picking up your phone and getting lost in your Instagram feed.

But, as you probably know, social media often makes our anxiety worse. Distraction doesn’t help anxiety regardless, but distracting yourself with social media that’s packed with bad news about global warming makes things even worse.

So next time you’re feeling anxious, try keeping your phone in your pocket.

Procrastination

Procrastination–we’ve all done it. Why worry today about what’s unconsciously eating away at us anyways, right? 😉

Putting things off that trigger your anxiety–you guessed it–adds to your anxiety. I know that I don’t have to tell you that, but it had to make the list.

Working too much

Anxiety produces a lot of energy, and we can feel it stored in our bodies through tension in our necks, backs, shoulders, hands, jaws, and more. Pouring ourselves into our work is an outlet for anxious energy, and it’s an effective form of distraction.

That anxious energy has to go somewhere, and almost anything can be turned into an outlet. Work is an easy one–especially if we’re rewarded by our bosses for “working hard.” But overworking yourself leads to burnout, and we all know how bad that is.

Isolation

If you have anxiety, ignoring your problems and not talking about them won’t help.

Be open with your loved ones about your struggle. Research shows that isolation is associated with mild to severe anxiety, so shutting other people out has the literal opposite effect of managing your anxiety.

Healthy coping mechanisms for anxiety

There are many healthy coping mechanisms for anxiety. The following are some of the most common ones, but you’re unique–you won’t know what helps until you try!

Journaling

In my opinion, there’s nothing better than a good “brain dump.” When I’m feeling anxious, the first thing I do is get all of my anxious thoughts on paper. Once they’re written down, they don’t seem as overwhelming, and I can start sketching out some solutions.

Remember that anxiety exists on a few levels: the cognitive level (your thoughts), the physical level (your body), and the emotional level (your feelings). If you’re able to adapt coping mechanisms that address all three levels, you’ll feel a more holistic sense of calm.

Journaling is excellent for the cognitive and emotional levels. Plus, if you journal, you get to buy cute journals from cozy bookstores. A win-win!

Movement

Yeah, yeah… moving your body is great for anxiety. We know already!

I’m a certified couch potato, so this healthy coping mechanism took me years to adopt. But once I took the pressure off of myself to have the “perfect” workout as part of my “perfect,” five-days-per-week, results-oriented workout routine, I started to experience the mental health benefits of exercise for the sake of exercise.

Movement doesn’t have to be a spin class, though. Gentle walking or yoga have similar benefits. 

So why is exercise such a great coping mechanism for anxiety? Getting your heart rate up is one way to complete what is known as the stress response cycle. The stress response cycle is largely physical–it heralds back to the time when our caveman ancestors were running for their lives to escape lions, sabertooth tigers, etc. 

The stress response cycle is meant to protect us from danger, but in the modern world, we often don’t need this visceral response to navigate day-to-day stressors.

When you exercise (or laugh, cry, cuddle with a loved one or pet, nap, or breathe deeply), you tell your body hey, friend–you’re safe. This transports us out of the fight, flight, or freeze response, which helps our body return to a less-anxious state.

It’s science!

Getting outside

Nature walks can help improve anxiety. Getting outside, listening to the birds (believe it or not, hearing birdsong eases anxiety), breathing deeply, and taking in the beauty around us prompts us to slooooow down.

Plus, I always find that nature provides a little perspective. That comment from a friend or impending deadline at work don’t seem quite as monumental when you’re gazing up at a 100-year-old tree or the endless reaches of the sky.

Spirituality

Spirituality has many definitions, but I’ll give mine here: spirituality is the study and act of nurturing our souls.

Research shows that spirituality provides a significant moderating effect for anxiety–so it might not be as woo-woo as we think.

Whether we care for our spirits by reading spiritual books, meditating, developing a mindset practice, internalizing affirmations, or praying, tending to our souls helps us calm ourselves on a more existential level, leaving us feeling grounded and (hopefully) more at peace.

Therapy

At Best Therapists, we’re BIG therapy fans (obviously).

A skilled therapist can help you process trauma, debunk harmful thought patterns, understand your emotions, and, of course, develop healthy coping mechanisms for your anxiety.

In my therapy experience, my anxiety turned around when I began to experience “second-order change.” Second-order change is a fundamental rewriting of our operating rules, aka a mega mindset shift that changes how you see everything. 

My second-order change occurred when my therapist introduced me to concepts from the book A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle. Tolle explains the functionality of what’s known as our “ego,” or the incessant stream of unhelpful thoughts that we think is us. But really, our egos are rampant, largely unconscious forces that lead to anxiety, fear, resentment, and division. Now that I’m able to recognize my ego, I can separate myself from anxiety spirals and take the world a little less personally. It changed my life.

The concept of the ego helped me, but it might not help you as much. And that’s okay–your second-order change will be completely unique to you based on your life, personality, and trauma, but when it hits it hits.

I, of course, have a tidy lil’ coping mechanism routine for when my anxiety kicks in, but addressing my anxiety at this deep, fundamental, “second-order” level has helped me more than all of these healthy coping mechanisms combined.

Ready to work with an anxiety therapist?

Over 40 million adults in the United States have anxiety. Lucky for us, there are tons of resource and anxiety specialists out there to help us get a handle on things.

At Best Therapists, we vet therapists so you can focus on fit, not quality. Start connecting with some of our vetted anxiety therapists today!