51 Tools in my Toolbox

1. Do something enjoyable.  Take a walk, go see a movie, visit with a friend, get a massage, eat something delicious, make something, watch a sunset, get or give a foot rub, soak in a  bath.
2. Talk to someone you trust.  Brainstorm, seek help, vent, find strength, share heartache.  
3. Cry, sometimes a lot.  It releases emotion and rebalances the brain chemicals. If you feel numb, watch “My Life” with Nicole Kidman and Michael Keaton.  It will jump start the tears and help put things in perspective.  Mourn and hold each other while we cry.  http://www.care2.com/greenliving/7-reasons-why-crying-is-good-for-you.html
4. Deep breathe.  Breathe in slowly through the nose, hold for 3 sec.  Release through the  mouth, slowly.  Do it 10 times, several times a day.
5. Exercise.  Sweat, increase heart rate and lots of water. Just do it.  
6. Ponder on the most wonderful moments in the last year.  (Marjorie P. Hinckley)  Feel joy! 
7. Watch these when you want to feel joy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpGx4foRdPw  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bWyhj7siEY  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbY_aP-alkw  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uh4dTLJ9q9o  
8. Get enough sleep.  Go to bed early, get up late.  10 hours of uninterrupted sleep can do wonders for restoring perspective. 
9. Look to the Savior to walk your days with you.  Pray for Him to be with you and act in ways that place you beside Him.  Pray to know what He would have you do.
10. Read the scriptures so you can hear His answers.  This is how God speaks to us, so read and listen. (This can be hard, but keep trying)
11. Remember nothing lasts forever, and this whole life existence is just somewhere in the middle.  We existed before and we will exist after.  This is just the middle.
12. Remember the Atonement can make up the difference where we fall short.  Physical, emotional, mental, spiritual, even temporal.  Rest in that.  
13. Keep connecting with those you love.  Make time to spend together, laugh together, cry together, hold each other and soothe each other. Look in to each others eyes and try sincerely to understand what they are feeling.  Connect and attach. 
14. Think positively about your ability to bear hard things.  I am strong.  I can bear hard things.  Like the Little Engine that Could, “I think I can” will turn in to “I thought I could”. Biology of Belief by Joe Dispenza too. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W81CHn4l4AM
15. Live it once.  When it happens.  Don’t live it before or after.   Live it once.
16. Enjoy moments—even if sorrow, frustration, and fatigue return.   Live in the present.  
17. Keep the end goal in mind.  Remember where you are headed and keep putting one foot in front of the other.  (Eternal life)
18. Lower expectations and performance will rise.  It’s ok to say no.  Say, “Let me check on that”.
19. Do not give yourself unnecessary stress hormone (cortisol and adrenaline) dumps.  The only time those are helpful is in emergency’s (fire, bleeding, accidents, bears chasing you, etc).  There is no need to “HURRY!” or be intense—to ourselves or others.  We can’t afford the continual stress hormone dumps.  Just do the best you can and think ahead and let stuff go.  So many things just really don’t matter very much.  Dispense cortisol cautiously.  
20. Most things are phasic not basic. (Dr. Abraham Lowe.  Recovery International)  Life is made up of phases.  They are temporary and don’t last forever.  Things change.  Most things are not basic characteristics or foundational patterns, events or circumstances.  Remind yourself: “Some days are better than others”. 
21. Better is a good place to be.  Sometimes you’ll never regain exactly where you were before, and it’s ok, but better is a good place to be. 
22. Place yourself in places where you can feel the spirit.  Rest. Listen.  Take note.  Act. 
23. Remember we don’t know everything.  Farmer Story.  http://www.habitsforwellbeing.com/maybe-so-maybe-not/
24. Find small things to be grateful for.  Write them down. Keep a gratitude journal.  (this may come long after the crying, but has it’s place)
25. Remember there are good things to see in Holland.  If you got on a plane going to Rome and you landed in Holland, you won’t see Rome, and there’s disappointment there, but turns out there are wonderful things to see in Holland.  Get off the plane.  
26. Literally close your eyes and imagine crawling in to the Savior’s arms and resting there.  He is safe.  He is secure.  He is strong.  He is protection.  He is love.  Rest there, recoup, soothe, then you can go on again.  
27. Trust in God’s plan for you.  He can see the end from the beginning.  Trust Him.
28. Medication, even for a short period of time, can be helpful.  
29. Read 2 Timothy 1:6-7.  Ponderize it.  
30. Clean up your diet.  Watch “Forks Over Knives” on Netflix.  Read D & C 89 again.  My experience has been that more plant based eating is helpful.  Not magic, but helpful.  Sugar and Caffine, though tasty, are not helpful. 
31. Replace insecure thoughts with secure thoughts.  This is deliberate and a conscious choice. (Dr. Abraham Lowe, Recovery International)
32. Headspace Meditation app
33. Resilience A great book by Eric Greitens
34. Healing hand.  Place your hand over your heart and pat yourself.  Think: “there, there, it’s ok”.  Sometimes I acknowledge the pain and say, “Ouch, ouch, that hurts.”  Soothe and pat your heart space.  Self-soothing and comforting.  I use this a lot, anytime, anyplace.  
35. Music—uplifting and appropriate for the mood and mindset you're in.  
36. Get someone you love to hold you.  Don’t talk.  Or do if you want to.  But just hug till you release tension.  Take some deep breaths and feel safe and secure.  Rest here.  
37. Skin to skin.  Embrace or spoon and feel the warmth and security of being skin to skin.  Touch is a healing power.  
38. Drum therapy.  
39. Massage is incredibly helpful for anxiety.  Schedule one today! Just do it.
40. Go to the temple.  Do an endowment session, or if that’s too hard do initiatory, or if that’s too hard, go sit outside or if that’s too hard, just drive by.  But go, there is peace there. Remember the plan of salvation is real and it will all work out.  
41. “You are doing better than you think you are.” Elder Holland
42. Often with anxiety you feel like you can’t find the ground.  Your feet are unstable and the earth seems to shift under your feet.  You can feel like running away, going crazy, falling, irritable, frozen or just unsure of everything.  Reassure yourself that there is a foundation below your feet whether you can feel it or not.  Helaman 5:12.  Christ is a SURE foundation and it is there, even if you can’t feel it.  Keep walking, keep being obedient, keep building on that truth.
43. Don’t make any big decisions when you have anxiety.  Don’t cut your hair, pierce your nose, get a tatoo, drink alcohol, take drugs, move, leave your family or have an affair, change careers or quit your job.  Just don’t.  So much of what seems real, isn’t.  Anxiety is a mental illness, treat yourself as someone who is sick and needs help even if you don’t look that way.  Ask for help and support, it’s ok to be in need.  Find a good therapist or doctor and see them regularly.  It is common to have a constant radar beeping around and around trying to find what is making you feel anxious.  It isn’t your house, your spouse or your job.  It’s anxiety.  It has a name and it lies to you.  Don’t pay too much attention to the radar, it’s just your brain looking for relief.  Find it in safe ways that don’t have lasting consequences.  Sometimes change is needed, but do it when you can think more proactively not reactively to false data.  
44. Sometimes I left Sunday School, sometimes I went.  Both were ok.  Keep trying.
45. Repeat the things that speak truth or feel right to you.
46. There is the pain of discipline and the pain of regret, you can only avoid one.  Bo Eason.
47. Check your magnesium, Vitamin D, Vitamin B12, Calcium, and Iron.
48. Natural supplements that help anxiety are: Sam-E, St. John’s Wort, Inositol, L-Theanine, GABA. Be sure not to take them with prescription drugs as they will interact.  Talk to your Dr.
49. Moroni 10:5.  “And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.”  Stay open to the spirit and keep your eyes open.  The spirit will direct you and help you find the things that will be helpful to you.  Watch for them!
50. Submission is a good thing.  Learning to submit actually strengthens our reliance on the Savior and the plan of salvation.  Have faith and hope in that.  
51. Alma 58:11