Small Tools to Cope With Anxiety in College
With a new semester about to start, I thought I would share some useful things that help me manage my anxiety in college. My counselor and I have worked on building a sensory box, which has a variety of items inside that stimulate my senses and I go to it whenever I feel panic or anxiety set in. The goal of the sensory box is to help distract me from my anxiety until it passes (usually a few minutes). I have a few sensory boxes, one for my backpack, one for my room, one in my car, etc. These items are the easiest to carry with you throughout the day and are what I find particularly useful:
Scented Lotion - A small travel-size hand lotion with a calming or nostalgic scent goes a long way. The smell of the lotion distracts me and brings me to a different state of mind, and the feeling of the lotion on my hands is a second sensation that helps distract from the anxiety. And during colder months your hands are dry anyway so some extra moisture can’t hurt! This is such a common thing that nobody will even notice if you pull some out.
Marbles - I have a small bag with a handful of marbles. I like to roll them between my hands and both the feeling of the marbles and the sound of the marbles are distractions from whatever is bothering me. These are fairly lowkey and easy to hide while using them so I highly doubt that anybody will even notice if you pull some out for a few minutes.
Balloons - I keep a few balloons in my sensory box. Blowing them up and quietly letting the air out is a good way to help manage your breathing. Not to mention it’s a fun sensation to blow up balloons (your cheeks puff out and your eyes sometimes cross, it’s a fun time). I blow them up and let the air out a few times until my breathing is under control and the anxiety has passed. You can also blow up the balloon, tie it off, and hit the balloon up into the air a few times. Obviously, this is a more noticeable technique, so you may want to do this is in a more private area if you don’t want people staring at you weirdly (though it is college and people do much stranger things).
Hard Candy - Candies you can suck on such as lollipops, Jolly Ranchers, Life Savers, etc. are really good to have. The flavor of the candy should give you something else to focus on, as will the act of sucking on the candy. Every college student eats candy all the time so nobody will bat an eye if you pull out some.
I hope some of you can use these yourself if you find yourself dealing with anxiety or stress. You can find all of these things easily at your grocery store, they travel well, and they don’t take up much space.
*Note: These help you cope with anxiety in the moment. If you are struggling with anxiety you should take other steps to address it, such as going to your counseling center or your doctor.*
