:):)

1. Acknowledge how you feel, and accept that this is going to be a more challenging day.

2. Commit to doing the absolute essentials but don’t push yourself to do everything.

3. Prioritize what’s important. For example, if you have a paper due that is worth a large percentage of your marks, work on that. If it is something that can wait, set it aside for now.

4. Work through your to-do list in small chunks of time – making sure you get plenty of breaks.

5. Tell someone who will understand. We need to get support when we’re feeling low but not everyone will be there for you. Figure out who will be there, and who won’t be there, for you.

6. Be wise in your use of social media. It may be good to go offline for a while, to switch off your phone and to protect yourself from stuff that just exacerbates the way you feel.

7. Make sure you leave the house and get a change of scenery.

That thought isn’t helpful right now.

Now is not the time to think about it. I can think about it later.

This is irrational. I’m going to let it go.

I won’t argue with an irrational thought.

This is not an emergency. I can slow down and think clearly about what I need.

This feels threatening and urgent, but it really isn’t.

I don’t have to be perfect to be OK.

I don’t have to figure out this question. The best thing to do is just drop it.

It’s OK to make mistakes.

I already know from my past experiences that these fears are irrational.

I have to take risks in order to be free. I’m willing to take this risk.

It’s OK that I just had that thought/image, and it doesn’t mean anything. I don’t have to pay attention to it.

I’m ready to move on now.

I can handle being wrong.

I don’t have to suffer like this. I deserve to feel comfortable.

That’s not my responsibility.

That’s not my problem.

I’ve done the best I can.

It is often possible to manage anxiety by actively replacing irrational thoughts with more balanced and reasonable thoughts like the following:

1. I’m going to be OK. Sometimes my feelings are irrational and false. I’m just going to relax and take things easy. Everything is going to be fine.

2. Anxiety may feel bad but it isn’t dangerous. There’s nothing wrong with me. Everything is going to be OK.

3. Feelings come and feelings go. Right now I feel bad but I know this is only temporary. I’ve done it before so I can do it again.

4. This image in my head isn’t reasonable or rational. I need to change my thinking and focus my attention on something that’s healthier, and generally helps me to feel good about myself. For example _____________.

5. I’ve managed to interrupt and change these thoughts before – so I know I can do it again. The more I practise this, the easier it will become. Anxiety is a habit – and it’s a habit I can break!

6. So what if I am anxious. It’s not the end of the world. It’s not going to kill me. I just need to take a few deep breaths and keep going.

7. Just take the next step. Just do the next thing.

8. Even if I have to put up with a period of anxiety, I’ll be glad that I did, and persevered, and succeeded.

9. I can feel anxious and still do a good job. The more I focus on the task at hand, the more my anxiety will ease, then disappear.

1. Don’t listen to the voice inside your head that tells you that you are inadequate.

2. Don’t hang out with people who look for the flaws and can’t see the best in the people in their lives.

3. Recognise that each person is different and unique. There is no-one like you - and you have great attributes.

4. Take note of your efforts, and the progress you have made. You’ve already come far. You should celebrate that!

5. Appreciate others, and what you gain from them. Don’t see them as people who undermine you.

6. Remember that NO-ONE is perfect at all - and that other people struggle with the same stuff as well.

Breaking patterns and habits that no longer serve their purpose

Setting boundaries and being honest with yourself, your body, and others

Avoiding quick fixes that are counterproductive to your end goal

1. "How much can you change and get away with it, before you turn into someone else, before it's some kind of murder?" (richard siken, from "portrait of fryderyk in shifting light")

2. "Part of me died so another could go on. The body I raised and abandoned still walking the path on the hill where I became larger than myself and the day could no longer contain me." (marty mcconnell, from "when they say you can't go home again, what they mean is you were never there")

3.

(juan arata)

4. "It is never late to ask yourself 'Am I ready to change my life, am I ready to change myself?' However old we are, whatever we went through, it is always possible to be reborn. If each day is a copy of the last one, what a pity! Every breath is a change to be reborn. But to be reborn into a new life, you have to die before dying." (shams tabrizi)

5. "People change and forget to tell each other." (lillian hellman)