Resources to Help with Anxiety and Stress

Meditation and relaxation tools to help manage anxiety and stress

• • Guided Meditation and Mindfulness - The Headspace App

  • Let's look after ourselves, and each other./ - Calm.com (free resources)

  • Calm - The #1 App for Meditation and Sleep (subscriptions may apply)

DCSD Virtual Calming Corner - Life can be challenging at times! The great news is you have the power to overcome these challenges by integrating purposeful pauses throughout the day to calm both your brain and body.

• • DCSD Virtual Calming Corner

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Healthy Ways to Cope with Anxiety/Stress

• • Take care of your emotional health

    • Take care of your body, connect with others (friends, family members), take breaks throughout your day, get help when needed

      • Colorado Crisis Line - 1-844-493-8255 or text "TALK" to 38255

      • National Suicide Prevention Lifeline - 988

  • Take breaks from watching, reading, or listening to news stories, including those on social media. Hearing about the pandemic repeatedly can be upsetting.

  • Practice positive self-talk (replace negative thoughts about yourself with positive thoughts).  Make it a habit. 

    • For example: Replace “I am not very smart” to “I don’t understand this yet, but if I keep working at it, I will get it.”

  • Take care of your body.

    • Take deep breaths, stretch, or meditate

    • Try to eat healthy, well-balanced meals

    • Exercise regularly

    • Get plenty of sleep

  • Make time to unwind. Try to do some other activities you enjoy.

  • Connect with others. Talk with people you trust about your concerns and how you are feeling.

  • Connect with your community- or faith-based organizations. While social distancing measures are in place, consider connecting online, through social media, or by phone or mail.

What is Mindfulness:

• • Mindfulness is the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we’re doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going on around us.

  • Mindfulness is a quality that every human being already possesses, it’s not something you have to conjure up, you just have to learn how to access it.

  • Mindfulness is now being examined scientifically and has been found to be a key element in stress reduction and overall happiness.

How to Practice Mindfulness:

• Take a seat. Find a place to sit that feels calm and quiet to you.

• Set a time limit. If you’re just beginning, it can help to choose a short time, such as 5 or 10 minutes.

• Notice your body. You can sit in a chair with your feet on the floor, you can sit loosely cross-legged, in lotus posture, you can kneel—all are fine. Just make sure you are stable and in a position you can stay in for a while.

• Feel your breath. Follow the sensation of your breath as it goes out and as it goes in.

• Notice when your mind has wandered. Inevitably, your attention will leave the sensations of the breath and wander to other places. When you get around to noticing this—in a few seconds, a minute, five minutes—simply return your attention to the breath.

• Be kind to your wandering mind. Don’t judge yourself or obsess over the content of the thoughts you find yourself lost in. Just come back.

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Tips on How to Get a Better, More Restful Sleep:

• Go to sleep at the same time each night, and get up at the same time each morning, even on the weekends.

• Don't take naps after 3 p.m, and don't nap longer than 20 minutes.

• Stay away from caffeine late in the day.

• Get regular exercise, but not within 2-3 hours of bedtime.

• Don't eat a heavy meal late in the day. A light snack before bedtime is OK.

• Make your bedroom comfortable, dark, quiet, and not too warm or cold.

• Follow a routine to help you relax before sleep (for example, reading or listening to music). Turn off the TV and other screens at least an hour before bedtime.

• Don’t lie in bed awake. If you can’t fall asleep after 20 minutes, do something calming until you feel sleepy, like reading or listening to soft music.

• Banning all-nighters (Don’t leave homework for the last minute!)

• Writing in a diary or on a to-do list just before sleep, to reduce stress

• Sleeping no more than 2 hours later on weekend mornings than on weekday mornings.