Those who talking to a therapist hasn’t worked for, how did you heal on your own and manage your anxieties (etc.)?

I talked to a counselor, not a therapist, but hopefully that still applies.

Exercising helps me a lot. So does being outside.

I also try to consciously acknowledge and control the way I manage my anxious thoughts. I may be anxious, but I'm also extremely stubborn and passionate.

If I catch myself being anxious about work/school, I'll remind myself that all it does is hurt my performance in those things. For instance, I work in a biology lab, and yeah I may often feel myself getting nervous about a procedure I'm doing. But when I notice that feeling, I'll just tell myself all it's going to do is make me so distracted that I screw up the experiment just because of being mentally "not there." So I try to acknowledge and push those thoughts aside, and focus on the outcome that being calm will bring me. Even if I'm not "naturally" calm, I tell myself there is a PURPOSE to being calm, and try to reach that state as best as I can. Often, I naturally feel calmer too. The same goes for my relationship and friendships, where I know being calmer leads to me hurting or annoying the people I care about less.

I guess that's considered practicing mindfulness? It takes a lot of effort, and took a lot of time for me to develop (and I'm still working on it), but I think I've at least curbed my anxiety to the point of it no longer harming my work or social life.

/r/AskReddit Thread