This is How I Encourage Healthy Writing Habits While Anxious

A few fundamental ways to cope with my anxiety and inspire writing with a clear mind.

Writing was my escape. I wrote to feel better about any current struggles that clouded my mind, but when my responsibilities as a writer changed, so did my perspective. I no longer turned to doing what I love when my world felt like it was crumbling around me, and I shoved aside the work that was supposed to help me develop my craft.

Over the last week, my anxiety has been at an all-time high. Usually, I can expect it to fluctuate depending on the circumstances. However, this time it remained stagnant.

In all of my desperate efforts to cope and return to work from the comfort of my home, I couldn’t bring myself to. I lost momentum, I couldn’t so much as walk over to my desk and open my laptop over the last few days.

I knew that with the start of this week, I wanted to make an effort to write about the things that mattered to me, and as it stands right now, that means maintaining a healthy mind and productive writing habits.

Here are the steps I take when I need to regain creative flow and start accomplishing things again.

This is a step that has been a constant at the start of every one of my work sessions. On a day where I wake up particularly anxious or have a hard time focusing, I spend at least ten-fifteen minutes with my writing journal, jotting down anything that comes to mind. I don’t categorize whatever I’m writing, nor do I allow myself to hold back. Getting it out onto paper physically makes me feel better, but also helps me to separate myself from anything that may be bothering me.

Meditating wasn’t something that piqued my interest in the beginning, but in my efforts to calm my overactive mind, I needed a way to recenter myself. It’s an excellent way to relax as well as tame the thoughts that are making my anxiety worse.

Anxiety and stress are a terrible combination, and most of the time, I’m usually dealing with both simultaneously. There’s half of me…

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