Supermodel and Keeping Up With The Kardashians star, Kendall Jenner, recently shared her struggles with anxiety but also shared some coping mechanisms she uses to stay calm, more optimistic and less anxious, and thankfully, they’re all things that we can do too.  

“My anxiety (especially social anxiety) has been on 100 lately,” the Vogue model wrote on Instagram. “I’ve come to a place where I don’t feel bad about it. I love my space and my alone time.”  

She added, “I am finding ways to help me start my day off with a calmer, more positive mindset.”  

Here are all the things that Kendall Jenner uses to help to calm her anxiety, and some things that you can try too.  

1. SPEND TIME OUTSIDE  

Spending time in nature has been scientifically shown to improve your mood. You may notice that you feel brighter when the sun is shining, but being surrounded by greenery also makes us lifted.  

As a bonus, exposing your retinas to sunlight first thing in the morning can kickstart your body clock which can improve your sleep later that night. Plus, you get to benefit from all that juicy vitamin D.

2. BREATHING TECHNIQUES  

Deep breathing techniques are a great way to calm the central nervous system and help you to feel more at ease.  

Jenner shared that she, “took deep breathes (4 seconds in, 4 seconds hold, 6 seconds out).”  

You may have practiced breathing techniques in yoga or meditation previously but getting to grips with different breathing techniques to turn to in moments of stress can help you to feel calmer and bring you back to the present moment.  

3. PRACTICE GRATITUDE  

Jenner shared that she, “wrote down 10 positive things about my life.”  

Encouraging your mind to search for positivity in your life, can lift your mood and make you feel happier. Keep a gratitude journal where you write down three positive things in your life right now or three things that have made you happy recently. It could be something as simple as freshly-washed bedsheets or a coffee with a friend to a promotion at work.   

Naturally, humans have a negative bias (ingrained in us to keep us safe) and practices like this help us to challenge that negativity notion as well as remind us of the good times.  

4. JOURNALING  

Jenner shared that she “wrote what I’m optimistic about the day/week.”  

Similar to practicing gratitude, this forced your mind to look for the good, instead of focusing on the bad, or the unknown or uncontrollable future that anxiety often manifests itself in.  

Having things to look forward to can give you something else to focus on instead of spiralling thoughts that often have a very physical, visceral effect on our body, like sweaty palms, breathlessness, and increased heart rate. 

Plus, journaling can help you to get things off your mind and onto paper. It can help you to work through things, or even feel like you’ve ‘dealt’ with them to some extent. Writing morning pages – three full days of your raw thoughts with no judgment, and no filtering yourself where you write whatever comes to mind – can help you to get into a habit of journaling each morning. If you don’t have time in the morning, take ten minutes at the end of your working day, or just before bed, but it’s important to make that quiet time for review and reflection. 

5. SOUND HEALING  

In the post, Jenner shared a sunshine-filled image of her crystal quartz bowl that she used for her sound healing. Sound healing, also known as sound therapy or vibrational medicine, is based on the belief that deregulation or disease in the body is a result of our natural resonance being out of whack, and that working with different sound frequencies can bring our body back into balance, and a healthy vibration.  

There is a range of sound waves that can instigate different feelings in your body, from beta waves that dominate a waking state and take up a lot of energy, to alpha waves, which invoke a resting state, and theta waves, where you can go into deeper meditation and relaxation. And of course, working with sound healing and crystal quartz can have double the healing benefits, combining sound healing with crystal healing!  

6. PET THERAPY  

Jenner shared that she cuddled with her dog, and took him for a walk to help to calm her anxiety. Cuddles from furry friends are proven to help us feel more joy. Their unconditional love, fun company, and comforting cuddles can act as a distraction and help us to feel more at ease. Pets never judge you, or offer guidance; they’re just there, which can be a big help when things get tough. If you don’t have a pet to take on walks and cuddle, borrow a friend or neighbor’s. You can even spend time with therapy dogs that can brighten your day now too! 

7. HELP WITH HEALING  

Jenner isn’t the only celebrity to share her struggles with mental health. Recently, model Bella Hadid, revealed: “I’ve had enough breakdowns and burnouts to know this: if you work hard enough on yourself, spending time alone to understand your traumas, triggers, joys, and routine, you will always be able to understand or learn more about your own pain and how to handle it.”  

It feels somewhat relieving to many people who experience anxiety, that celebrities who we often think of as “having it all”, have moments of difficulty too, because it helps us to feel that we are not alone, as Kendall suggested in her post when she said, “If you’re struggling, I love you. You aren’t alone. I see you.” Just this recognition can help us to feel better in living with our struggles and taking steps to overcome and cope with them.  

In her Instagram post, Jenner encouraged her followers to, “Give it a try. I’m optimistic about my day ahead and you should be too!” On that note, we suggest you reframe your morning routine to incorporate some of these anxiety coping mechanisms and see what works for you!