How to Control Anxiety Fast In Public Places

It’s not always easy to control anxiety, especially when you’re in a public place.  However, if you do nothing, you take the risk of letting your anxiety get so severe that it turns into an anxiety attack.  To keep this from happening, you need to take action to control anxiety the minute you notice it.  Here are a few ways you can do that. 

First of all, you really need to stay as calm as you can.  I know that this may be difficult to do, but stressing over your anxiety will only make things worse for you.  Try if at all possible to keep your mind off of your anxiety and whatever is causing your anxiety.  You might try distracting yourself.  Even thinking of random things like your grocery list can help control anxiety.  You might even try remembering the words to a song, anything that gets your mind off of the current situation.

Obviously, being in public can definitely increase you anxiety.  So, if you can, you should try to find a place to be alone, even if it’s just for a few minutes.  You might see if there is a bathroom nearby that you can go into, or you may be able to go outside and get some fresh air.  This will give you at least a little bit of time to try to control anxiety before it becomes unmanageable. 

Of course, if you’re in a public place, you may not always be able to find a place to be alone.  If this is the case, you’re going to have to learn how to control anxiety around other people.  There are many techniques you can try for this.  For instance, deep breathing exercises are a great technique to use.  Most people probably won’t even notice your change in breathing, and it can really help to control anxiety. 

Another technique that is great to control anxiety in public is visualization exercises.  There are many different versions of this technique you can try, but one of the simplest is trying to picture yourself somewhere else, somewhere calm and relaxing.  This could be a private beach on the ocean, or a mountainside cottage.  Try to really be as detailed as you can.  This will help to keep your mind off you’re your anxiety. 

The key to control anxiety is to act as soon as you start to become anxious.  If you let the anxiety get out of control, it can easily turn into a full blown anxiety attack, which is much more difficult to stop.  So, the next time you’re in a public place and start to feel anxiety creeping up, use the tips above to control anxiety fast.