List making and listing things soothe my anxious mind.
I started list making awhile back in a variety of ways to help me deal with my anxiety and bipolar. I was finding that my bipolar was causing me to have severe issues with focus. I started making lists of "must dos" so that I could focus more easily and stay on target. That's one way I use lists. To accomplish tasks and stay productive.
Another method of list making is the 5 things method, where during high anxiety you list five things you can see, touch, smell, taste, hear. This brings you back to the present and helps stop your mind from spiraling. This one helps me quite a bit when I can calm down enough to use it.
If my anxiety is just particularly bad to the point where my thoughts are becoming obsessive then I will do trivia lists. I will try to name things that I don't really know super well in order to distract and make my brain concentrate in other areas. I usually will enlist the help of someone else in these. The other night during commercial breaks (thanks Amazon) I listed NFL football teams for each state for my boyfriend.
I like to use lists to keep my mind away from obsessive thoughts and use as a way to put more positive things into it. Here are some examples of lists you could write to help you!
- favorite movies
- favorite books
- places you want to visit
- people you've helped
- adventures you've had
- favorite songs
- favorite desserts
- favorite smells
- books you want to read
- countries you want to visit
- list your big goals
- list your little goals
- favorite meals
- meals you want to try
- list your personal weaknesses
- list your personal strengths
- favorite works of art
- the things you've worried about that never happened
- all the flowers you can think of
- all the colors you can think of
You can really make a list of anything. It's a great journaling prompt or a great recitation when you need to break that obsessive thought pattern.
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